Verdict
Microsoft ’s Surface Laptop Go 3 is a fall from grace . It offer reasonable performance and tycoon in a sleek chassis but skimp out on its display and ports to proffer an experience beaten by many of its competition . Its gamy starting damage makes it a tough sell in both the budget and high - end productivity segments of the market .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
As the old saying become , if you want something done properly , do it yourself . With the release of Microsoft ’s Surface Laptop Go 3 , it represents a brand - Modern Windows laptop computer from the very maker of the operating scheme .
In the past , the Surface Laptop Go line has serve up some of thebest Windows laptopsbut the omission of cheaper alternative this prison term out hold it a outrageous Alfred Hawthorne to rise . Now , it comes as quite an expensive laptop for its mid - range condition , with my review conformation run costing £ 999 but , for those after a stylish laptop computer with fair public presentation , it could still be deserving it .
I ’ve had the latest Surface Laptop Go in for test for the last few calendar week , and here are my thoughts .
Design and Keyboard
As with the late generation , the Surface Laptop Go 3 is a stylish - looking laptop computer and makes for one of the better - expect mid - range Windows laptop computer within its price range . The contour I ’ve experience here come in what Microsoft calls ‘ Sage ’ , which is a metallic fleeceable colour . It is also available in more conventional colours , such as ‘ Platinum ’ and ‘ Ice Blue ’ , too , if you require something a short more standard .
It is a positively dinky machine when play off against my 16 - in MacBook Pro , peculiarly establish its pocket-sized 12 - in screen . At just 15.7 millimetre blockheaded , it is also a slender laptop and is easy to sling into a bag . What ’s more , a raft of just 1.13 kg makes it one of the most portable laptops I ’ve ever tested , and it certainly wo n’t take up too much space in a traveling bag . It ’s also contain of a variety of materials , with an anodized Al lid , and a bottom half made of aluminum and polycarbonate composite resin which boast 30%post - consumer reuse content – that ’s a nice touch and wins Microsoft some points for sustainability .
However , that slim frame has led to some major sacrifices . The embrasure natural selection on the Surface Laptop Go 3 is disgraceful for the price . offering a singular USB - A , USB - degree Celsius and earpiece jack on the left - script side , while on the right is Microsoft ’s own proprietary Surface Connect porthole for charge on the rightfulness . That ’s it . No HDMI , nor SD bill reader , or anything else . It seems clear that Microsoft is intent on making users live the dongle lifespan .
Its keyboard is particularly comfortable to practice , and the 65 per centime thickset layout is perfectly usable for a laptop computer of this size of it . Legends are clear , and the scissor actuation is fantabulous for long type Roger Sessions . It is n’t backlit though , which is a disgrace , so after - grim workings is off the cards .
The trackpad is an fine sizing , and it ’s haptic to use with a dampened tone , so as not to be too noisy . My only issue with it is that the plastic that has been used has the tendency to get quite greasy from finger scar , even with clean hands .
The Surface Laptop Go 3 amount in a white box and features no charge plate at all in the promotion , with it being mostly made of composition board . The accessories and cables also come in individual cardboard boxes .
Display and Sound
The Surface Laptop Go 3 ’s show is n’t needfully what you ’d expect to find on a laptop computer of its price . As fight to opting for a in high spirits - atomic number 75 , giving screen display , Microsoft has opted to go for a 12.4 - in panel with a 1536 x 1024 solving . That ’s pocket-size than Full HD ( 1920 x 1080 ) and stand for that simulacrum can look grainy even on a smaller panel . That was my experience in examination both when using the Surface Laptop Go 3 for productiveness task and for kicking back and watching Disney+ after employment .
As much as trope may look grainy , it is at least a reasonably colour - accurate panel with 95 % insurance coverage of the sRGB colour gamut , meaning it expose all the mainstream colours needed for Clarence Shepard Day Jr. - to - day work rather well . Its appraise 304.7 nits of smartness just meets our target area and means the Surface Laptop Go 3 offers in good order bright images .
On the positive side , its utterer are fantastic for a laptop computer of its price , proffer a unspoilt body and some decent deepness and propagation , too . It made watching content on Disney+ more than passable , although you will want to snare up a headset or other set of speakers for a dependable experience . The 720p webcam is nothing to spell home about but its fair to middling for all your basic TV conferencing needs .
Performance
The left over pick go forward with the Surface Laptop Go 3 ’s alternative of processor . The Intel Core i5 - 1235U processor inside is intimately two generations one-time , on a laptop released at the back end of 2023 , which seems baffling . Nonetheless , its 10 cores and 12 threads mean it is n’t underpowered by any mean and remains a competent choice for what the Surface Laptop Go 3 is design for . The 16 GB ofRAMprovides upstanding headroom for more intensive workloads and multi - tasking , alongside 256GBSSDstorage .
The novel damage of the Surface Laptop Go 3 puts it in a difficult position . The range would previously be contending with the budget laptop market but , now , its higher start price give it fiercer competition despite not much changing in terms of what it can offer .
It perform well in a variety of synthetical bench mark trial , including Cinebench R23 and 3-D Mark Time Spy , with tons close to slightly more expensive offerings such as theAcer Swift Edge 16 . However , the issue posted in Geekbench 6 reveal the limits of the i5 - 1235U , with a sexual conquest that was virtually half of the scores that laptops with thirteenth Gen Intel and Ryzen 7000 laptop flake featured – the Swift Edge 16 ’s grudge of just over 10,000 is a lot higher than the Surface Laptop Go 3 while running Ryzen , and it ’s the same fib with Samsung’sGalaxy Book 3 360and its newer Intel Core i5 - 1340P.
Further , when put up against laptops in the £ 400-£700 wall bracket that it used to contend with , it either fall short or keep open step . Those looking for a stylish pupil productiveness laptop computer should now look to the likes of theHP Pavilion SE 14andAsus Chromebook Plus CX34to serve up their functioning need .
even so , for day - to - day working and a bit of picture editing on Photoshop , the Surface Laptop Go 3 felt nippy . unfold a loading of Chrome tab did n’t cause it to stammer , and multi - tasking with those open and run Spotify and Photoshop did n’t slow the Surface Laptop Go 3 down too much .
The 256 GB SSD offers an hunky-dory capacitance for storing files and apps . However , it is n’t the quickest alternative by any substance with measured read and write speeds of 3297.02 Mbit / s and 2002.93 MB / s severally .
Software
The benefit of opting for a Microsoft Windows laptop is evident when it comes to computer software . There is n’t any bloatware in sight , and its Windows 11 type O is up - to - date , clean , and easy to expend . It ’s an OS that has grow on me as I ’ve used it day - to - daylight in both laptop computer and desktop contour and on the Surface Laptop Go 3 , felt slick and responsive .
The Surface Laptop Go 3 does come with some ready to hand apps pre - installed , such as Netflix and Spotify to get you up and pass , as well as the Surface app , which is an interesting first - party app that give you canonic information about your gadget , include its bombardment per centum , serial figure , and the distance of time left on your warranty .
Unlike the more expensive Surface Laptop Studio 2 , the Surface Laptop Go 3 miss out on Windows ’ new AI webcam features , largely thanks to its 12th Gen IntelCPUlacking the surplus AI chops of its big sibling . It will get Copilot with the next Windows update , although for the life of me , I could n’t get it to cultivate during my time with the machine .
Battery Life
In dialling the luminosity down to 150 nits and start the PCMark 10 battery test , the Surface Laptop Go 3 lasted for 9 hours and 10 hour . That ’s a far cry from the 15 hours that Microsoft quotes but is still fairish enough survival to get through a crop day .
It ’s vanquish off by a lot of other Windows laptop at a similar price point , including those with OLED showing such as theAsus Vivobook S 15 OLED ( 2023 ) , whose screen you would expect to have a tumid battery draw than the LCD Microsoft is using here . Lasting for just over 9 60 minutes will get you through a working day with a moment of hypermiling , although you may well be reaching for the charger a little before than you may have ab initio expect .
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Should you buy it?
Where the Surface Laptop Go 3 gain it ’s with its dinkey and lightweight , solid human body . If you want an especially humble laptop to take on your travels , this is one to consider .
Arguably the biggest booby trap of the Surface Laptop Go 3 is its iffy port selection which either pretermit out on a lot of the bedrock for a laptop in 2023 or does n’t cater enough of them .
Final Thoughts
Considering that the previous two generations of Microsoft ’s Surface Laptop Go kitchen range have been home political campaign and regular feature of speech on our list of thebest Windows laptop computer , I had high hopes for this third generation . However , a major price rise and too many thinned corner mean this simply is n’t as good of a option as it could and should have been .
The Sage gullible colour face excellent and this is a lightweight and compact laptop that ’s particularly portable . It ’s catch a well-situated keyboard and trackpad and looks modern . What ’s more , it ’s reasonably brawny and offer up some good endurance .
However , all of the above arrive with some large caveats – the port wine choice is odd and minimal , while the processor power the Surface Laptop Go 3 is n’t even part of Intel ’s late genesis . The battery life sentence is also short of the competition , while the 12.5 - in display supply a solving short of Full HD and grainy effigy .
Compared to likewise price options such as theAsus Vivobook S 15 OLED ( 2023)and theSamsung Galaxy Book 3 360 , the Surface Laptop Go 3 is now a recess product for those who lust the signature Surface expression . Those looking for devices in the class this laptop computer used to pose in should consider theHP Pavilion SE 14,Asus Chromebook Plus CX34and othertop budget laptops .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop computer we review locomote through a series of uniform check designed to gauge key things including build timbre , performance , screen quality and battery life .
These let in courtly synthetic benchmark and written tests , plus a series of real - world check mark , such as how well it runs popular apps .
FAQs
Yes , the Surface Laptop Go 3 comes with Windows 11 home plate , unlike previous generations which came with Windows in S modality .
Microsoft recently announce that Surface devices release after January 2021 will number with six years of firmware and driver updates .
Test Data
Full Specs
