There’s one more option for students keen to take their work to go, as Microsoft expands the Surface line with a slightly smaller Surface Laptop to go.
Students already get an interesting assortment of computers to help them through the course of a regular day, whether they’re very young and need a laptop or making their way to a high school level computer, but we’re always keen to see one more.
And while Australian kids are edging closer to the end of the year, our friends on the other side of the drink in America have just started their school year, kicking off from August and September for the 2020 to 2021 school year.
That seems as good a time as any for computer makers to time their releases, and Microsoft is part of that, adding to its portable computer range with a new variant of the Surface.
Specifically, there’s a new Surface Laptop style, as Microsoft builds a slightly smaller style of its svelte standard slim Surface Laptop. The new models is the Surface Laptop Go, which differs from the standard Surface Laptop by providing a smaller screen with a lower price tag, dropping from the 13 and 15 inch options to a 12 inch screen. That 12 inch screen is a lower resolution than you might expect, giving Microsoft a way to save money, using a 1536×1024 screen (148ppi) versus the much heigher resolution 2256×1504 13.5 inch screen (201ppi) used on the standard 13 inch Surface Laptop 3.
It’s still a touchscreen, so that’s at least something, providing a way to use Windows 10 alongside the keyboard and touchpad mouse, which are found in the body, too. The Surface Laptop Go arrives in “S Mode” out of the box, and thankfully like other S-mode computers, can be switched out to standard Windows quickly.
And while the screen is a give away that the Surface Laptop Go is made for students, the specs aren’t overly too shabby, including a 10th gen Intel Core i5 processor, 4 or 8GB RAM, between 64 and 256GB storage, and 802.11a/b/g/n/c/ax WiFi. Microsoft has even left a Type A rectangular USB port on the side, as well as the Type C standard so many devices get, a 3.5mm headset jack, and the proprietary Surface Connect port, too. The Surface Laptop Go is built in a combination of aluminium, plastic, and glass, so is a little more durable than say a plastic computer might be.
There’s even a fingerprint reader built into the power button, providing some semblance of security.
Price is one thing that appears to make the Surface Laptop Go competitive, at least somewhat, offering the 64GB version for $999, while a 256GB will cost $1549. At launch, the Surface Laptop Go seems like it’s focused on winning people over to Windows who might have considered a MacBook Air, particularly given the Air starts at $1599 for 256GB. Granted, the 13 inch screen on the 2020 MacBook Air likely run rings around the lower resolution display on the 12 inch Surface Laptop Go, but Microsoft looks like it’s definitely playing for keeps for students keen for an Air-style machine, but with Windows instead.
You’ll find the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go in stores later this month, hitting retailers and the Microsoft Store from October 13.
