Microsoft Surface Go 10" Go Review

Let's be real. The Surface Go is a $229 tablet that runs Windows, and that's its entire personality. It's not a laptop. It's a super-portable screen with a keyboard you can attach if you're feeling brave. The one thing you need to know? This thing is for one job: being the absolute lightest, cheapest way to check email and browse the web on a Windows interface. It's in the 100th percentile for compactness, which is a fancy way of saying nothing else is this small. But that's where the good news ends.

The performance is exactly what you'd expect from a Pentium 4415Y and 4GB of RAM, which is to say, not much. It's in the 1st percentile for CPU power. Opening more than three browser tabs feels like a gamble. The integrated Intel HD 615 graphics are fine for streaming video, but that 98th percentile GPU ranking is hilariously misleading—it just means the GPU isn't the absolute worst part, which is a low bar. The 64GB eMMC storage is painfully slow and fills up instantly.

At $229, it's cheap. But 'value' implies you're getting something worthwhile. You're not. You're buying a severe compromise. It's only a value if your budget is rock-solid and your needs are microscopic.

Forget the gaming laptops listed as competitors—that's nonsense. The real comparison is against used older iPads or Chromebooks. A used iPad Air is faster, has a better screen, and will last longer on battery for basic tasks. A $250 Chromebook will feel like a speed demon next to this and handle web apps flawlessly. The Surface Go only wins if you absolutely, positively need Windows on a 10-inch screen.

I can't recommend buying this. The 4GB of RAM and anemic CPU create a miserable experience for anything beyond the most casual use. It's a novelty, not a tool. If you need ultra-portable Windows, save up for a used Surface Pro with at least 8GB of RAM. If you just need a cheap web machine, get a Chromebook. The Surface Go is a lesson in why specs matter, even at the bottom end.