The Surface Go 2 has arrived, and it’s a significant improvement over the previous version with up to 64 percent faster performance, longer battery, and larger screen.
While the timing to launch new devices is not ideal, since not a lot of people a looking to shop for a new small and “on the go” form factor these days. The Go 2 delivers a premium experience starting a low $399.99 price point.
At glance, the Surface Go 2 looks similar to its predecessor, but in this new iteration, the tablet bumps the screen size from 10 inches to 10.5 inches, which may not seem significant, but because it fits in the same body design, it means a smaller screen bezel and increases the pixel density to 220 pixels per inch (PPI) while keeping the perfect 3:2 aspect ratio.
The base model comes with an Intel Pentium Gold processor, but you can also choose the model that features an 8th generation Core m3 processor, which should give you over 60 percent more performance, 128GB Solid-State Drive for internal storage, and 8GB of memory, but price goes up to $629.99.
There’s also 64GB of eMMC for internal storage (which isn’t amazingly fast) and 4GB of memory. However, you can select a variant of the base model with 128GB Solid-State Drive (SSD) for storage and 8GB of memory for $549.
On the side, you’ll find a Surface Connector for charging and docking, a USB-C port, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and a MicroSDXC Card Reader, which you can use to expand the internal storage.
Surface Go 2 also comes with the Studio Mics (dual microphone array) for increased voice clarity and reduce background noise, and a 5MP front-facing and 8MP rear-facing cameras for 1080p HD video.
Surface Go 2 tech specs
Here’s a closer look at the tech specs of Surface Go 2.
| Surface Go 2 tech specs | |
|---|---|
| Display | Screen: 10.5” PixelSense Display Resolution: 1920 x 1280 (220 PPI) resolution Aspect ratio: 3:2 Contrast ratio: 1500:1 Touch: 10 point multi-touch Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Processor | Intel Pentium Gold Processor 4425Y 8th Gen Intel Core m3 Processor |
| Memory | 4GB RAM 8GB RAM |
| Graphics | Intel UHD Graphics 615 |
| Storage | 64GB eMMC drive: 128GB Solid-state drive (SSD) |
| Dimensions | 9.65” x 6.9” x 0.33” (245mm x 175mm x 8.3mm) |
| Weight | Wi-Fi: 1.2 lb (544 grams) LTE Advanced: 1.22 lb (553 grams) |
| Baterry | WiFi: Up to 10 hours of typical device usage LTE Advanced:3 Up to 10 hours of typical device usage |
| Wireless | WiFi: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology |
| Security | TPM 2.0 for enterprise security Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in |
| Network | Nano SIM Tray 4G LTE Advanced (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66) GPS/GLONASS: Standalone and assisted GNSS, accuracy up to 3 meters |
| Ports | 1 x USB-C 3.5 mm headphone jack 1 x Surface Connect port Surface Type Cover Port MicroSDXC Card Reader Compatible with Surface Dial |
| Sensors | Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer NFC |
| Cameras, video and audio | Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing) 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p Skype HD video 8.0MP rear-facing auto-focus camera with 1080p HD video Dual Studio Mics 2W stereo speakers with Dolby Audio |
| Software | Windows 10 Home |
| Exterior | Casing: Magnesium Color: Silver Physical buttons: Volume, Power |
| In box | Surface Go 2 Power Supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents |
As per usual, if you want to take full advantage of the device, you need to get the click-on keyboard that you must buy separately. The Surface Go Type Cover with Alcantara (Platinum, Black, Poppy Red, and Ice Blue) cost $129, but you can also get the basic black cover for only $99.
You can preorder the Surface Go 2 starting May 6, but it’ll be available starting May 12, in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, UK, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, and Japan.
If you’re in the market for a more capable device, Microsoft also has the Surface Book 3, which you can get with an Intel 10th Generation Core i7 processor, Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti or Nvidia Quadro graphics, up to 32GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of internal storage.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].