Microsoft Makes the Surface Laptop Go 2 Official with More Storage and New CPU
Microsoft’s tiniest laptop is getting an overhaul today. After leaking earlier this week, the Surface Laptop Go 2 is now official. It shares a lot with the last-generation model, but Microsoft did fix a few shortcomings to modernize this low-cost computer, which you can pre-order today from Microsoft or Best Buy.
The Surface Laptop Go 2 sits at the bottom of Microsoft’s laptop lineup, starting at just $599. That puts it in competition with Chromebooks and tablets, a place Microsoft’s hardware usually avoids. As a result, the specs are somewhat modest. There’s a 12.4-inch PixelSense Display at 1536 x 1024. That’s not a very high resolution, but it is a 3:2 ratio like the previous model. Taller displays like this are increasingly popular as they allow you to see more of long documents and web pages, which is especially important on small screens like this.
The Go 2 has the same basic design as the last model with one USB-C, one USB-A, a 3.5mm jack, and Microsoft’s weird Surface Connect port. The top is aluminum, but the bottom is a polycarbonate resin. The webcam is also still just 720p, but Microsoft claims it’s a better sensor than it previously used. The keyboard isn’t backlit like some had speculated, but Microsoft says the key travel is 30 percent greater than the MacBook Air.
Most of the upgrades are on the inside. The new version sports an 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 with Iris Xe Graphics, which is a 15W quad-core chip like the i5-1035G1 in the last Go. The 11th gen CPU has a higher clock speed and about 25 percent more power in benchmarks. Thankfully, Microsoft has dropped the 64GB eMMC base storage in this refresh. Now you get either 128 or 256GB of SSD storage and either 4 or 8GB of RAM.
While it’s possible to get by with 4GB of memory, that is the minimum spec for Windows 11, which comes installed on the Go 2. Microsoft also pre-installs apps for its various services, including Office 365 and Xbox Game Pass. Both of them cost money, but you can hide or uninstall the apps if you aren’t interested.
The Surface Laptop Go 2 will begin shipping on June 7th. There is also a business-focused version of the Go 2, a market where Chromebooks have increasingly eaten into Microsoft’s dominance. The Go 2 won’t reverse those trends, but it does look like a marginally more capable computer than the previous version.
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