Rumors were abound for weeks that Microsoft would be releasing a $400 tablet aimed towards schools this year, and now its a reality with the Surface Go.
The Microsoft Surface Go, revealed on Monday night, will be made available for $399 in early August 2018. The tablet will feature a 10-inch display, an all-new keyboard, and a modern Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y processor. With these specs, as well as the aggressive pricing that is aiming at the iPad 9.7 (which costs $429 for its 128GB model,) it’s looking like Microsoft has a hit on its hands.
Surface 10-inch Go Specs
For those that remember the Surface 3, the screen was slightly larger at 10.8 inches, with a Full HD (1080p) display. The Surface Go’s resolution is a bit smaller at 1800 x 1200, but with higher pixel density at 216 ppi vs 214 ppi for the Surface 3. A revised keyboard with an all-new connector will also be available for the Surface Go, albeit as a separate purchase. The keyboard has full-sized chiclet style, but curved for easier location of the keys. The trackpad will be the same size as the Pro models, making it easier to use as well. The 5MP front-facing camera will feature Windows Hello capability, as well as specific tuning towards Skype. This is the same as the Surface Pro, which also features an 8MP rear camera.
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The aggressive pricing allows it to be positioned in the education sector, a place where Apple has dominated for years with the iPad, and with the capability to fully unlock Windows 10 on the Surface Go, should give schools a reason to go full Windows OS in the classroom. However, it’s clear that Microsoft is looking to position the Surface Go in homes as well as businesses, with the varied options.
Pre-orders have already begun in the US, Canada, Australia-New Zealand, Hong Kong, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Taiwan, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Malaysia, and Thailand. $399 gets you 4GB RAM, 64GB of eMMC storage, and Windows 10 Home. An extra $50 upgrades to Windows 10 Pro, and an extra $150 upgrades to 8GB RAM and a 128GB SSD. All four combinations will be available. Surface Go Type Covers are $99 or $129 for the fabric-covered Alcantara versions, and the mouse is $34.99. Hardware is due to ship on August 2. There will be LTE supported Surface GO models along with 256GB SSD models to the lineup at an undetermined date the in future.
Editor’s Note: We’re a gaming site as well, and I’m a huge emulation buff, especially with the older generation of consoles and arcade hardware. Seeing that they’ve opted to go with a Pentium Gold processor (I was hoping they’d go Ryzen 2200G-equivalent here,) I want to see how the device performs as an emulation device for things such as Super Nintendo, PlayStation 1, Sega Dreamcast and the Capcom and Sega/Sammy arcade machines (CPS-2, CPS-3, NAOMI/NAOMI2 and Atomiswave.)
