Microsoft Surface Go 3 review | Laptop Mag

Our Verdict

The Surface Become three has a premium design and a swell brandish but information technology'southward permit downwardly past poor performance, dismal battery life, and questionable pricing.

For

Bright and colorful display
Solid speakers
Good build quality
1080p webcam

Against

Poor battery life
Weak performance
Accessories sold separately

Laptop Mag Verdict

The Surface Go 3 has a premium blueprint and a not bad display but it's let downward by poor performance, dismal battery life, and questionable pricing.

Pros

+
Bright and colorful display
+
Solid speakers
+
Expert build quality
+
1080p webcam

Cons

-
Poor battery life
-
Weak performance
-
Accessories sold separately

Surface Go iii specs

Toll: $399 starting ($629 every bit reviewed)

CPU: Intel Cadre i3-10100Y processor

GPU: Intel UHD Graphics 615

RAM: 8GB

Storage: 128GB SSD

Display: 10.5-inch, IPS FHD (1920 x 1280)

Bombardment: 6:50

Size: 9.65 ten 6.nine x 0.33 inches

Weight: i.2 pounds

The Surface Get 3 looks and feels like it should be a groovy take hold of-and-go 2-in-1 laptop. It is solid in the manus and the audio and display are neat, but then your middle is broken by poor performance and dismal bombardment life. The Surface Go 3 tin can't handle anything more than basic spider web browsing or video streaming. Even and then, it struggles to juggle multiple web tabs. To make matters worse, the Go iii won't terminal a total day on a charge and loses several hours of runtime compared with its predecessor.

Moreover, the Surface Go 3 starts at $399 and our review unit of measurement costs $629, which doesn't factor in the Surface Blazon Encompass keyboard or the stylus. It borders on bravado to think anyone would want to spend over $600 for a device with a two-year-erstwhile 10th Gen Intel Core i3 CPU. I tin can practice just about everything the Go 3 tin handle on my two-year-one-time iPad and get much ameliorate battery life. With that said, let's dig deeper, shall we?

Microsoft Surface Get 3 pricing and configurations

The Microsoft Surface Go 3 we received costs $629 and comes with a 10th Gen Intel Cadre i3-10100Y CPU, an integrated Intel UHD Graphics 615 GPU, 8GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD, and a x.five-inch, 1920 10 1280-pixel IPS bear on display. Microsoft likewise included a Surface Get Blazon Comprehend, which retails for $129, and a $99 Surface Pen. These 2 items alone tack on more than $200.

The base version of the Surface Go 3 goes for $399 and arrives with an Intel Pentium Gilt 6500Y CPU, an integrated Intel UHD Graphics 615 GPU, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of eMMC storage. Aye, that does say Pentium, and no, I am not the just person who thinks Pentium fries shouldn't be a thing in 2022.

Microsoft Surface Go three blueprint

The silverish magnesium torso of the Surface Go 3 feels dandy in the hand. It'south super thin and lightweight, making information technology something you would want to employ to read books, watch videos, and bear around. The pop-out plastic kickstand is sturdy, offering solid stability throughout its 165-degree range of motion.

Microsoft Surface Go 3 review — (Prototype credit: Futurity)

On the back embrace, nosotros find the Microsoft logo, the kickstand, and the 8MP rear-facing camera that supports 1080p video. The aesthetic is business-like, and bluntly, kind of bland. On the summit, we find the power and volume buttons, and on the right side are most of the ports. On the lesser is the Type Embrace port where the Surface cover keyboard attaches. At that place are two tiny speaker slits on the sides of the screen when holding the tablet horizontally.

The display is listed at 10.5-inches, merely the bezels are huge, then it looks smaller. The Gorilla Glass 3 display within those bezels is nice just holds onto fingerprints similar I hold onto a new pack of Oreo cookies. So be warned, information technology's a print magnet.

Delving into the numbers, the Surface Become three comes in at ix.65 x 6.9 x 0.33 inches and weighs 1.2 pounds, placing it behind the Apple iPad Air, which measures 9.vii x 7 10 0.24 inches and weighs 1 pound. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Fe comes in at 11.21 10 7.28 x 0.25 inches and weighs 1.34 pounds. So there is the Acer Swift 3 (AMD, 2022) at 12.7 x. 8.6 x 0.6 inches and 2.65 pounds, making it the heftiest member of our group.

Microsoft Surface Get iii ports

Ports are normally in limited supply on tablets, and that'south no unlike with the Surface Become iii.

On the left, if y'all're belongings it vertically you'll find the Surface Connect port where you can connect the Surface cover keyboard.

On the bottom, we find a USB-Type C port for charging your device or connecting information technology to peripherals, along with a MicroSDXC card reader and a three.5mm audio jack.

Microsoft Surface Get 3 display

The Surface Go 3's 10.5-inch, 1920 x 1280-pixel IPS display wins points for existence bright and colorful. The Spider-Human No Way Home trailer was detailed with rich color saturation while maintaining accurate skin tones. When Doctor Strange is casting the spell to wipe everyone's knowledge that Peter Parker is Spider-Human, the orange and blood-red glowing incantations were cinematically reproduced.

I watched the replay of the NY Giants' outset win of the flavor and the New Orleans Saints' black-and-gold uniforms popped against the green football field. Motions were shine and everything looked crisp. Honestly, information technology's a good fiddling display to watch a game on if you're somewhere without access to a telly.

We measured the Go 3'due south display with a colorimeter and it covered 104.7% of the sRGB color gamut. Information technology surpassed the iPad'southward 103% of sRGB colour gamut and the Acer Swift three's 62% but placed second behind the Samsung Milky way Tab S7 FE (180% sRGB).

During our effulgence examination, the Surface Go 3 scored an average brightness of 402 nits, which exceeds the budget laptop boilerplate of 290 nits. The iPad led our group with 440 nits, followed past the Samsung with 341 nits, and the Acer airtight out the group with 251 nits of brightness.

Surface Pen and Type Embrace keyboard

I firmly believe annihilation that comes with a touch display should include a stylus or active pen of some kind. The Surface Become 3 doesn't. You have to spend an boosted $99 to buy the Surface Pen.

The pen connects via Bluetooth and features iv,096 pressure level points, which is nice when yous're using information technology to draw, sketch or sign documents.

The Type Encompass keyboard for the Surface Go is tiny, but the keys feel clicky. Better all the same, the trackpad is a good size, measuring 3.90 ten two.2 inches; I found the buttons to be clicky and the surface responsive to the normal Windows gestures, including two-finger scrolling and pinch-to-zoom.

I was surprised the Blazon Cover survived the pounding of my abominable easily when I took the 10FastFingers.com test. I had a bit of a difficult time adjusting to the size of the cover keyboard, which you tin can lay completely flat or at an angle. While apartment, I scored 67 words per minute with 74% accurateness. I then angled the keyboard and fared slightly better, reaching marks of 77 words per minute with 86% accuracy, nonetheless still below my normal range of 85 words per minute with 95% accuracy.

Microsoft Surface Become 3 sound

I listened to Saweetie's "Best Friend" featuring Doja Cat, and I was surprised by the sound quality of the tiny 2W speakers on the Surface Go 3. Equally the song started with the lyrics "On the dance floor," the bass kicked in and was discernible from the rest of the beat, particularly the treble rhythm. By the time "she my best friend, if ya' need a freak hit" played, I had turned information technology upward to the indicate where it was conspicuously audible across my studio apartment. The audio quality is shockingly good for the size of the unit.

As I mentioned earlier, I watched the highlights of the NY Giants game and the announcers were loud and crystal clear even over a distance of x feet. I could conspicuously hear the distinctive crunch and smash of the players colliding at the line of scrimmage.

Although the audio is solid, I suggest you look into purchasing a pair of wireless headphones for the best sound quality.

Microsoft Surface Go iii performance

Our Surface Go iii unit of measurement packs a 10th Gen Intel Core i3-10100Y CPU, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD. I turned on the Surface Go 3, opened up Edge, and popped open up forty tabs, with five playing YouTube videos in 1080p. I then opened a Google Doc and started typing. At first, it seemed to run well, but then I noticed some lag equally I was typing.

I downloaded Google Chrome considering I wanted to see how the Surface Go 3 ran the browser. Under the aforementioned parameters, I noticed Chrome struggled a bit on the Surface Go 3. Is it the browser or is information technology the Go three? I can't say, so allow'southward have a look at the numbers.

During the Geekbench 5.4 overall performance test, the Surface Become 3 scored ane,571, which is below the budget laptop average of i,612. The Acer Swift 3 led our group with a score of iv,718 (AMD Ryzen 7 4200U CPU). The Apple iPad Air (A14 Bionic CPU) was next with 4,262 followed past the Samsung Milky way Tab S7 (Qualcomm 750G SoC CPU) at 1,965. Again I am left wondering why Microsoft went with the tenth Gen Core i3.

On the Handbrake video transcoding examination, the Surface Go three took 46 minutes and 47 seconds to convert 4K video to 1080p. This score is not on par with the budget laptop boilerplate of 33 minutes and 43 seconds. The Acer Swift 3 transcoded the video in eleven minutes. On a similar test using Adobe Rush, the Apple tree iPad Air transcoded video from 4K to 1080p in 27 seconds.

Microsoft Surface Go three battery life

This is another moment of truth for the Microsoft Surface Go 3, and one that leaves me disappointed. How could y'all create a production in this genre that tin can't compete in i of the nearly important areas like battery life.

During the Laptop Magazine battery test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, the Go 3 lasted just 6 hours and 50 minutes, which is far below the 8:23 category average. The Acer Swift 3 (AMD) lasted eleven hours and 9 minutes while the iPad Air lasted a total of x hours and 30 minutes. The overlord of bombardment life within our grouping was the Samsung Milky way Tab S7 FE, which lasted a fantastic 13 hours and vii minutes, clearly putting the others to bed.

Microsoft Surface Become 3 cameras

The Microsoft Surface Get three features a 5-megapixel front-facing photographic camera for when y'all're using Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Skype or Google Meets. The 5MP shooter is capable of HD video and is a solid performer. Using the Windows photographic camera app, the autofocus is reliable and the lens performed well in low light conditions. Color reproduction was spot-on and images were clear and crisp unless it got likewise dark. My Skin tone was accurately reproduced as well.

The 8MP rear-facing photographic camera is a piffling sharper than its front-facing counterpart in both nevertheless images and 1080p HD video. Colors were nicely saturated, with pare tones being reproduced accurately. At that place isn't a wide-angle option, withal, y'all can shoot a panoramic photo, scan documents and use information technology in conjunction with the whiteboard software that comes with Windows 11. Overall, the cameras are OK merely I would rather utilize my iPhone.

Microsoft Surface Go 3 software and warranty

The Surface Go 3 comes with Windows 11 Dwelling without all the tertiary-party bloatware.

The Go iii doesn't come with annihilation but Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 (which y'all can opt-out of), the Border browser, and Xbox Game Bar (I would not effort any serious gaming on this thing unless y'all play the included Microsoft Solitaire collection). At that place's likewise MS Paint, Whiteboard, and the typical apps you get in Windows.

The Microsoft Surface Go three comes with a 1-year limited warranty. See how Microsoft fared in our almanac special reports, including Tech Support Showdown and Best and Worst Brands.

Bottom line

The Microsoft Surface Go 3 left me with more than questions than answers. How do you go from the Get 2'south 11-hr battery life to less than vii hours? Why are you lot using an underpowered 10th Gen Core i3 CPU? Why is your other CPU option a Pentium?

The things I do like well-nigh the Surface Go iii are its brilliant and colorful display, and the Surface Pen, though information technology will set you dorsum an boosted $99. If you lot desire to use information technology as a laptop, and so y'all have to trounce out another $129 for the Surface Go Type Cover. When you lot add it all up, our review unit would cost more than than $850 with those accessories. At that price, it is an underpowered, underwhelming two-in-1 that can't compete with the Apple iPad or Samsung Milky way Tab S7 FE. Heck, for $299, y'all can buy a Lenovo Chromebook Duet and exercise everything yous were hoping to do on the Surface Go iii.

Mark has spent 20 years headlining comedy shows around the country and made appearances on ABC, MTV, Comedy Central, Howard Stern, Nutrient Network, and Sirius XM Radio. He has written about every topic imaginable, from dating, family, politics, social issues, and tech. He wrote his first tech articles for the at present-defunct Dads On Tech x years ago, and his passion for combining humor and tech has grown nether the tutelage of the Laptop Magazine team. His penchant for tearing things down and rebuilding them did not make Mark pop at habitation, however, when he got his hands on the legendary Commodore 64, his passion for all things tech deepened. These days, when he is not filming, editing footage, tinkering with cameras and laptops, or on stage, he can exist found at his desk snacking, writing about everything tech, new jokes, or scripts he dreams of filming.