If the Surface Laptop Go is a premium product, then why is the lowest spec option just 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage using eMMC? There isn’t even a decent speed SSD in the base model I would love to see just how the entry-level model performs with a regular load-out of Windows 10 and the apps that everyone installs out of the box.

The entry level model at $549 certainly covers the design sensibilities, but the specs are… anemic. One of the selling points of the Surface Laptop Go is the price point, offering the Surface design and solid performance in what Microsoft calls an everyday laptop. Given the list price is $899 in the US for the top end model, it's an inexplicable miss. I’m trying to decide if the lack of backlit is a dealbreaker for everyone, or just for me. The only lit key is the one around the combined power button and fingerprint sensor. The smaller function keys are almost impossible to make out unless you tilt the screen over them to cast some light on them - and the irony of using the screen light to turn down the screen brightness is not lost on me. The suspicion must be that the technology to allow the accuracy of the Surface Pen has been removed to keep the build cost down.

Given the amount of marketing effort to ensure the Surface Pen is associated with new Surface devices, this is an inexplicable miss in terms of branding. It does come with a touchscreen, but it’s important to note that it does not work with Microsoft’s Surface Pen. A 4K screen doesn’t make a huge amount of sense on a 12.4 inch display, especially given the useful 3:2 ratio of the screen, as opposed to the more media-friendly 16:9, but the screen used here feels a little bit cramped. The resolution on the screen is a relatively low 1536x1024 pixels. It contributes to the clean lines and look of the laptop, but it’s not winning me over from a practical point of view. Rather than a small cutout on the base of the laptop, the chassis around the screen has a small overhang, barely a milimeter, that you can catch with your finger or thumb to aid opening. Opening the Laptop Go from a standing start is ungainly.

Microsoft laptop go review