Microsoft - Microsoft Surface Go

Microsoft

Surface Go: Microsoft tackles entry-level

Aprox. 537€ - see price -

See specifications

Sold around € 500 (tablet only without keyboard), the Surface Go is designed for small budgets. A very contained price which does not however prevent Microsoft from offering a product of very good quality.

Our review

Presentation

With its previous Surface Pro and Surface Book, Microsoft has always targeted the high-end market by offering high-quality products. With the Surface Go, the Redmond company is trying another proposal: a less powerful product, cheaper, but not less good, at least on paper. An affordable surface but not discount, therefore, which arrives in our labs to pass on the grill.


Presentation

Construction

It is a constant on the Surface: the finishes are impeccable. With a brushed aluminum chassis, the Surface Go differs from its big sisters by its size, since it adopts a 10-inch screen. We thus find an extremely neat and very pleasant tablet in hand, equipped with a pivoting foot which allows to support it. Note that Microsoft sells the tablet alone (for 450 or 600 € depending on the model), without keyboard (optional for 130 €) or stylus. An incomprehensible strategy in 2018 that allows Microsoft to play on the price, and inflate it artificially with accessories. Accessories which, moreover, enjoy the same impeccable finish.

The keyboard, precisely, has a version adapted to the size of the tablet (10 inches). The Alcantara is there and serves as a cover for the PC. The recipe does not change, the keys always having a pleasant resistance as well as a fairly short stroke, but which remains sufficient. The trackpad is still just as precise and efficient. However, the 10 inch format is sometimes a little small, especially for large hands.

Regarding connectivity, Microsoft made a drastic decision: while USB Type-C took a long time to arrive on Surface products, the Redmond company decided to fully marry this port on the Surface Go. It is equipped USB Type-C port only, and note the absence of USB-A. We also deplore the absence of recharging by USB-C. You must therefore recharge the tablet with the supplied Surface Connector charger.

Note however the presence of a microSD port to increase storage and a mini-jack for audio.

The heating is perfectly well managed. During our usual test protocol (Metro Last Light benchmark for one hour), the Surface Go reached the maximum temperature of 43 ° C in its upper part. Acceptable and not disturbing heating, the keyboard being independent of the heating part. Noise is non-existent, cooling being passive. So no fan.

Ultimately, the Surface Go is in line with previous models, that is to say a great success of design and engineering, marred all the same by some small faults related to the 10 inch format.


Construction

Screen

The Surface Go is equipped with a 10-inch IPS screen. Microsoft has kept its 3: 2 ratio so special and therefore offers a definition of 1800 x 1200 px. The focus was not on edge reduction, since the screen / front ratio is 70%, which is quite low. Nevertheless, the care given to the display is appreciable.

contrast 2150: 1 Delta E 1.8 temperature 6590 K

The passage of our probe in front of the screen reveals simply excellent results. It thus offers a dynamic contrast measured at 2200: 1. The colorimetry is also well controlled, the Delta E average being 1.8. The temperature is 6,590 K, which is very close to the video standard (6,500 K). The grays therefore neither draw towards blue nor towards red. The average gamma stabilizes at 2.2 along the entire spectrum and is therefore excellent. The maximum brightness reaches the appreciable value of 376 cd / m². The remanence is rather good for a computer not dedicated to the game, since it is limited to 13 ms.

In short, a flawless one that does honor to the Surface range.


Screen

Performances

The Surface Go is positioned as an affordable, low-power ultraportable. While the ARM was the expected choice, Microsoft finally opted for an Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y processor supported by 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of SSD. Once the tests are done, the results come as no surprise. Note that there is a version with 64 GB storage in eMMC, therefore potentially slower.

Difficult to deliver good performance with such a processor. During our usual tests (photo, video, audio compression, etc.), this PC reached an index of 34 with our (new) test protocol. This places it behind the Galaxy Book equipped with an Intel Core m3, but still in front of the Chuwi Lapbook and its Celeron. In use, the Surface Go allows you to do simple office work and Internet browsing in good conditions, but no more.


Performances

Mobility / Autonomy

With its diagonal of 10 inches, the Surface Go adopts more the format of a tablet than an ultraportable. As a result, it fits very easily into a bag and does not take up space. Its weight of 522 grams (without the keyboard) contributes to this transportability, just like the small charger. The optional keyboard weighs 240 grams.

On the autonomy side, the Surface Go is less brilliant. Indeed, during our usual test (Netflix in Chrome, brightness at 200 cd / m², headphones plugged in), the tablet-PC turned off after 5 hours and 51 minutes. A result far from shameful, but a little disappointing all the same.


Mobility / Autonomy

Audio

Surface Go adopts a tablet format, and therefore the sound quality of a tablet. The speakers are placed on the front on the side of the screen, which gives a natural look. If they are not very powerful, they deliver a correctly balanced sound, which makes it possible to have intelligible voices, with clearly identifiable timbres, and to listen to music occasionally. Note the presence of Dolby processing activated by default which adds relatively discreet dynamic compression which compensates for the lack of power. It also very effectively accentuates the feeling of stereophonic width, at the cost of a little fuzzy spatialization. Processing deactivated, stereophony regains precision, but is then limited to the physical dimensions of the tablet.

The headphone jack offers correct results, despite a high hair distortion and a little low power. Relatively low power for a PC, but normal for a tablet.


Audio

Conclusion

With the Surface Go, Microsoft wanted to offer something that goes beyond its usual lines by targeting the entry level. The Redmond company has not forgotten to take special care with its product, especially in terms of design and screen. However, we still regret this kit selling system (optional keyboard) to artificially increase the price, as well as a somewhat disappointing autonomy.


Conclusion

Specifications

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