Is the $400 Surface Go Worth It? #Helpful Post

 Hey guys, this is Austin.

This is the brand new, smaller, and cheaper Surface Go.

But at $400 the question is,

is it worth it?

So Microsoft just sent this over.

Today is the launch of the Surface Go,

so you can pre-order it and all that kind of stuff.

But the general idea here is that

this feels much more like a competitor

to the iPad than a lot of the higher end Surface models.

So there are only going to be a couple models

of the Surface Go.

So this is the higher end config with the Pentium Gold,

which is standard across the board.

But with the upgrade, eight gigs of RAM

and 128 gigs of storage.

And this one is going to cost $550.

Alright, so inside we get the actual tablet itself.

That feels like an iPad.

That is much, much smaller than any of the normal Surfaces,

but we're still going to be getting a lot

of the nice features including,

when I get the plastic wrap off,

we've got the nice, fully adjustable kickstand.

Dude, this is really light, wow.

It's funny, I mean the normal Surfaces

are hardly heavy or huge,

but this just feels so much more portable.

I mean, that is nothing.

While phones are going completely away from bezels,

I actually don't mind the slightly larger

bezels on the Surface Go.

It gives you a nice sort of place to set your fingers

and use it without accidentally touching

the screen all the time.

So we've got a power cable,

so this one's going to be,

oh I have to do math.

23 watts, right?

24 watts, damn I was close.

My math skills, super sharp.

But we've got the standard Surface charger.

And this is going to be using the Surface connector.

So something that's going to be a little bit different

with this, as opposed to something like

the actual bigger Surface Pro,

is the port situation.

So we still do have the Surface connector,

but this guy's also going to have a full USB-C port.

Beyond that, it looks like we're just going to be

getting a little bit of paperwork in the box.

So, like its bigger brothers, you can pick it up

with the keyboard, as well as a stylus,

but both of those are going to cost extra.

So this is the Alcantara type cover.

Now that's going to actually run you a full $130.

You can pick up the non-Alcantara version for 100.

But don't be fooled by that $400 price tag

on the Surface Go.

It can get much more expensive very quickly.

The Surface Go is in an interesting position.

So it slots right in between the $330 base iPad,

as well as the $650 iPad Pro.

Now it is going to be both thicker,

as well as have a smaller screen than the Pro.

But you're also going to be getting

some much more PC-focused features.

Like, you know, an actual USB-C port,

and the ability to use a trackpad,

which is kinda helpful for the thing

that tries to replace your laptop.

Now the keyboards are actually going to be

a pretty similar size.

So both on the iPad as well as the Surface,

they're going to be about 85% of a standard laptop keyboard.

But the Surface definitely does have the advantage

with not only that touchpad,

but it also has a much nicer chiclet design

with some full backlighting.

Then there's the kickstand.

So this is a bit of a Surface signature at this point.

And the good thing is the Go does have

a fully flexible kickstand that's going

to be just like its bigger brothers.

You can adjust it up, down,

and pretty much stop at anywhere along the way.

Now it isn't out yet, but there will be

a little bit later this year,

a version of the Surface Go available with LTE.

Maybe not the most important thing in the world,

but just like an iPad, it can be very helpful

to have built into the device.

The iPad has made some major strides recently

to be much closer to a full laptop replacement device.

However, if you take one look at the Surface Go,

you're going to find a lot here

that's going to make your life a lot easier

if you actually do want to use it as a laptop.

And if you do want to take advantage of it

as an actual laptop,

you're probably going to want to use the microSD card slot.

With only 64 or 128 gigs of storage,

it's going to run out quick as soon

as you start doing anything more intensive.

And at least being able to throw in a 64 or 128 gig card

can make a big difference for only a few bucks.

Beyond just the difference in capacity,

there's also going to be a big difference in speed.

So while the 64 gigabyte version

of the Surface Go has slower eMMC flash,

this guy, with the 128 gigs of storage, has a full SSD.

While it's not going to be crazy fast,

it's really right on par with a lot of lower end laptops,

and especially pretty impressive for less than $600.

Where the Surface Go is kind of far off

is in pure performance.

Inside that Pentium Gold processor, well,

it's just not going to be that fast.

Now don't get me wrong.

It's still going to be faster than

the Atom-based cores inside the Surface 3,

but what you're getting here is a pair

of Skylake-based cores, which do

at least have hyperthreading,

but they're going to be kinda similar

to a last-gen core i3, except clocked much, much slower.

Mind you, we are looking at a fanless 10-inch tablet

with a 6 watt TDP,

and a max clock speed of only 1.6 gigahertz.

Now without any kind of boost, it does mean

it's going to suffer in the benchmarks.

But in real world use,

the Surface Go actually isn't too bad.

With 8 gigs of RAM, and that pretty speedy SSD,

it does hold up pretty well in normal use.

Now of course you have to temper your expectations,

you're probably not going to want

to edit 4K video on this guy,

but that Skylake-based core processor does make

a big difference to day-to-day use.

You're also getting decent graphics performance.

The Intel HD 615 inside is going to be fine

for some very light gaming,

although you really shouldn't turn this into a gaming PC,

but importantly it is going to allow you

to, say, run a couple of 1080p monitors,

or even a 4K display off of it.

Even without the keyboard,

you're also getting some other nice features.

So this is going to be full Windows Hello support,

so all you need to do is turn it on,

and very quickly it will recognize you and log in.

This is something that will be coming

to iPad soon with Face ID,

but Microsoft already has a great implementation,

and it's here on a $400 tablet today.

The screen isn't too bad.

So you're getting a 10-inch, 1800 by 1200 display,

which of course does support touch.

And while it's not going to be

the highest quality panel in the world,

it gets pretty bright, but the color accuracy

is going to be a little bit off,

and it's not going to be the most

contrasty thing in the world.

But generally speaking, for a $400 tablet,

I'm definitely not complaining.

So you are going to be getting front-firing speakers,

but they just don't really sound all that impressive.

They're a little bit on the tinny side,

and while they do get pretty loud,

the issue is there's no real bass

and they just kinda sound whatever.

I guess it's a $400 laptop, tablet, thing.

(Hit That Jive Jack by Gramatik plays)

Yeah, that's so much better.

So with the iPad, what you're getting

is something that is going to have not only quad speakers,

there's going to be one on all four corners,

but just sounds much richer, much deeper.

To be fair, the iPad Pro is also going

to be a fair bit more expensive, but no-brainer.

It's way, way better.

The cameras on the Surface Go are surprisingly good.

Not only is the webcam nicely detailed and very rich,

but even the rear-facing camera doesn't look too bad.

So, is the Surface Go worth it?

Well they've hit a good price point,

and a lot of the compromises

from the bigger Surface Pro are very understandable.

Now for most people, especially if you just want it

for basic use, I think the standard $400 version

is going to be fine.

However, if you want to actually use this

as a laptop replacement,

I would really say that you should upgrade

to the higher-end model and pick up a keyboard.

It is going to make a big difference.

Now all that being said, I'm curious.

Would you want to pick up a Surface Go,

or would you rather prefer to use something like an iPad?

Let me know in the comments below,

and I will catch you in the next one.