**to reviewer "AllAboutTech40": You cannot fault this little guy on a third party software outage that received Nationwide (perhaps Worldwide) media attention. The Surface Go 2 M3 deserves a fair and rational review based on hardware and built in software.** The screen on this device is excellent, the battery life is impressive and the fact that this fits in a really small backpack is the best Windows PC to be this portable. If you want adequate speed and performance the Intel M3 version is the one you want. You literally get the best bang for your buck. Can pretty much handle anything you throw at it or at least try if you are using software that won't be graphic or memory intensive. Microsoft really got things right on this sequel to the Surface Go. They added a better processor, better screen, thinned the side bezels so you get more screen. This is a huge performance boost than the original. It is so portable you will forget that it is in your bag! I am extremely satisfied with my Surface Go 2 Intel M3 that I gave it 5 stars.

Seemed to be working great right after I bought it but it’s not even a year old and it won’t turn on.

The SG2 with the m3 process and 128-storage is the best tablet money can buy. The SG2 costs $630. Keyboard cost from $45 to $100. Pen cost from $55 to $100. And a 128 micoSD cost $30 to $40. Total cost ranges from $750 to $870. The 11-inch iPad Pro (256-storage) cost $900US (w/o pen, keyboard) and does not have expandable storage. iPad Pro keyboard cost from $250 to $350. Pencil cost from $80 and $130. Total cost is between $1,230 and $1,380. Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S7 (256-storage) cost $650US (w/o keyboard). Keyboard cost from $100 to $200. Total cost is between $750 and $850. Beyond cost, the SG2 can run all Windows-based program, as well as two external monitors. No iPad Pro or Samsung tablets is a full-fledge computer and as such can’t run iOS or Windows program. Moreover, Windows has 35 million apps/programs, Android has 2.8 million apps, and Apple has 1.9 millions. So when comparing cost and programs/apps, why would anyone purchase a traditional tablet over the SG2? Both the iPad and Samsung S Series tablets are not computers. Further, Windows has 35 million apps/programs, compared to Androids 2.8 million apps and Apple's 1.9 million apps. Below are additional PROs as well as CONS: PROS: Battery. Battery life is outstanding. I get over 10 hours of continuous YouTube viewing (50% brightness with Bluetooth, Wifi, and battery saver all on). The battery lasted about 5.5 when I participated in an all-day online training using Zoom. Processing Power. CPU is highly underrated. Geekbench 5 single-core score of 873 for the SG2 is on par with SP6 i5 (914), SP7 i3 (1014), and 2020 MBA i3 (983), and better than SPX SQ2 (799). In other words, this SG2 is just as powerful as the Microsoft’s low-end Surface Pro 7 and Apple’s low-end MBA, but in a smaller and more portable package. Lag. No lag when opening apps or app links. Additionally, I had no problem opening different web pages when 10 YouTube videos were all running simultaneously. Tablet mode. Apps open more smoothly in tablet mode than computer mode. Face recognition. Windows Hello is fast and works every time. Display. The screen is bright enough at over 400 nits. The screen’s major upside is that in a completely dark room you can lower screen brightness to zero (saving battery life) and still watch YouTube videos without any problem. Build quality. The device is well-built and incredibility light. Kickstand stand. Is sturdy, extremely flexible, and the rounded edges do not dig into your leg. Fan. No noise as the device is fanless. Ports: USB-C allows for the easy transferring of files to and from an external device and the connection to an external monitor. Surface connect. Magnet is very strong, but the charger detaches easily if pulled off. Note-taking. SG2 is the perfect size for note-taking and is optimized for OneNote. Overheating. The SG2 does not overheat. CONS: Accessories. Keyboard and pen are expensive at full retail price. Consider open-box purchases because they save you anywhere from 10% to 30%. Another option is to look for a $30-$40 Bluetooth or Wireless keyboard. Screen size. Screen size is too small if you want to use the SG2 as your primary laptop. Keyboard. Typing on the keyboard is an adjustment and do to its small size maybe too uncomfortable for some people. Bluetooth. The Surface pen does not remain connected once the device is turned off and has to be reconnected via Bluetooth every time I turn the device back on. Ports. Unlike the SP7, there is no USB-A port so I had to buy a dongle. Speakers. When it comes to listening to music, the treble is a bit too high and the bass is too weak. For non-music videos the speakers are fine.

Coming from the original Surface Go, the new Surface Go 2 is MUCH quicker. I dreaded Windows Updates on the original Go as they would take what seemed like forever to install. This Core M3 model is extremely capable and does not hesitate for the majority of tasks that we put it through. According to benchmark results this processor is nearly 3x as fast on single core and nearly 2x faster on multi-core than the original Surface Go. The screen has a high resolution which is bright and the color is beautiful. Off-Angle viewing is great as well. We purchased this with the UAG case for our daughter to use for virtual school and it is no slouch. Google classroom, Clever, Minecraft Windows Edition, etc all work without a hitch and the keyboard spacing is perfect for her smaller hands. I think this is the perfect balance of speed, portability, and price. We were able to use the pen and keyboard from the original Surface Go as they were a perfect fit. This has been a perfect fit for our virtual school needs.

I had an old gen 1 surface book that finally have up the ghost. So I figured to replace it with two devices this time around. I got an Asus g14 for the worky gamey stuff and one of these here surface gos for the touchy, tablety stuff. I got this one for less than the entry level model because of a sale and some rewards dollars I had burning a whole in my pocket. For that $300 it's absolutely worth it, but I would NOT be okay paying full price for it. Unless you have money (or rewards dollars) to throw around dont do it. The normal retail price point puts it in 8gb ram surface pro territory. Believe me, I know surface pros and this is no surface pro. I have to keep reminding myself what this is good for. It's not a full speed laptop, it's a glorified netbook. That means I can't throw 20 tabs at it and expect it to chew em up like my Asus g14 will or even like my old surface book (rest it's sweet sweet soul) would have. As long as you use it within its functional sweet spot it does really well. It's also worth noting that the keyboard is a bit of a double edged sword for me. I have large hands (not Shaq sized, more like trump size) and it can be annoying for my knuckles to rub together trying to type on that thing. On the other hand it works better than using the screen. The good stuff: Nice screen Active screen digitizer Convenient kick stand Build quality Windows 11 updates The not good stuff: Battery life Cramped keyboard for the large handed The bad stuff: Retail price