Microsoft Surface Go officially announced

The Microsoft Surface Go was officially unveiled today as the company's latest productivity-oriented tablet. This new slate from Microsoft aims to directly compete with the Apple iPad, offering portability and versatility. The Surface Go is set to enter the market right in time for the back to school season, and Microsoft made sure to point out how ideal it's form factor was to read school textbooks in portrait mode.

Design

The Surface Go is visually a smaller version of the company's flagship tablet, the Microsoft Surface Pro. The tablet weighs in at 1.15 pounds and has an 8.3mm thickness. The Surface Go has slightly larger bezels and slightly rounder edges compared to the Surface Pro, further complementing its portability. The body is still made up of the magnesium chassis, building on top of the solid design that the Surface line is known for.

Specs

The Surface Go has a 10 inch PixelSense display, which is compatible with the Surface Pen (sold separately), allowing 4096 levels of pressure. The tablet is powered by a 7th generation Intel Pentium Gold processor with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM. You get 64GB of eMMC storage in the base model, but you can go as high as 256GB if you wish.

The tablet seems ideal for reading books, productively on Microsoft Office or consuming media, and boasts up to 9 hours of battery life. Charging up your tablet can be done through its USB Type-C 3.1 port.


Software

The Surface Go comes with Windows 10 Home pre-installed in S-Mode. This means that by default you can only run pre-installed apps like Microsoft Edge and anything you download through the Microsoft Store. While users can unlock the full functionality of Windows 10 Home for free, it is important to point out that the hardware is optimized for apps downloaded through Microsoft's ecosystem.

If you are planning to replace your regular computer with this tablet, you will likely face some performance issues and lags.

Pricing and Availability

The Microsoft Surface Go is the cheapest in Microsoft's Surface lineup, priced at only $399. The base model which arrives on July 10th comes with Wi-Fi only, but expect an LTE version later in 2018.

If you want to add the Surface Pen to your purchase, it will cost you an additional $99, while the Surface Go Signature Type Cover will cost you between $99 and $129 depending on the color you choose.

The Surface Go will be available in US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain starting July 10. It will reach more markets in the coming weeks.