Base Surface Go Review

[mrplt]

I have a Desktop PC for gaming and power-demanding stuff and a MacBook coding etc. However, I've been looking for an iPad (with Apple Pencil) to take notes in lectures. However, as I saw Surface Go on sale for Black Friday I went for it instead of an iPad. This is the first computer I bought without prior research.

I got the 4GB/64GB version without Microsoft keyboard (with Surface Pen) and I've been using it for around 3 weeks.

Here's what I think about it so far:
It has a 10" screen with a resolution of 1800x1200, which goes bright enough and the pen support is amazing. The pen magnetically sticks to the left side of the tablet, and it works perfectly fine. There is a small design flaw though. If you have the pen on the left side of the tablet and listening to something, the pen tip keeps rattling and it's so annoying. I love the MagSafe type charger. 

Its front camera is really good for a Windows machine (also for a tablet), making it a great Skype machine. Its back camera is 8 Megapixels, and the photo quality is amazing as long as it's well-lit. Windows Hello works perfectly, however, I'm not sure whether it keeps learning like Apple's Face ID. Sometimes it doesn't recognize me, especially when I'm wearing a tuque.

The built quality in general is good, however when I use the pen, the screen kinda moves in which is the biggest drawback for me. It has bezels straight out of 2015.

Battery life is around 6.5 hours for me with WiFi&Bluetooth on in battery saving mode. It's not as advertised but I'm happy.

Specs-wise, it has a 1.6Ghz Pentium Gold 4415Y processor, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of eMMC storage. What I didn't know when I bought it is that it doesn't have Turbo Boost. 

Anyways, I always have Chrome with YouTube and a couple other tabs, Messenger, WhatsApp and OneNote open and I can't complain so far. I considered getting the 8GB version but I think the 4GB version is a better match with the processor. I've read somewhere that YouTube playback can be finicky on Chrome, however I haven't had any problems so far.

The storage, 64GB eMMC, is a tad bit faster than an average spinning Hard Drive and nothing like an SSD. 

I also got a 64GB microSD storage for photos and music, and for $15 it works perfectly fine.

Instead of the Microsoft keyboard, I went for a Logitech Bluetooth keyboard for $30 that works perfectly with my Surface as well as my phone and my MacBook. It's more or less as wide as the Surface itself and it's very easy to use. 

Here comes the biggest problem with the Surface Go: Windows 10. (It comes with Windows 10 in S mode but takes a minute to switch to regular Windows and it's free -- so it's not a big deal)

Microsoft has been working on a tablet friendly OS ever since Windows 8. And to be fair, at first glance Windows 10 is very touch-friendly with the Start Menu, Settings screen and apps like Maps, Office365 and Edge works perfectly with the Pen. It's almost impossible to choose multiple files on File Explorer, right click is a problem as it works half the time, choosing a word when typing pops up a touch friendly box when using certain apps and in others it's the regular right click menu. And I ABSOLUTELY hate the fact that the touch keyboard overlays the text box in certain apps (WhatsApp, for example) It also doesn't show up sometimes, thankfully there is a keyboard button on the bottom right corner. Also when you put the tablet in sleep mode it gets very, VERY warm especially in a case/backpack. This is a portable device and I shouldn't have to turn it off every time I'm done using it (going from one class to another, for example) I never turn off my MacBook and it never gets warm.

In conclusion, I didn't buy this as a laptop. I mainly bought it to take notes and for light use. It's not blazing fast, but it does what it's supposed to do perfectly. On top of all that, it's an actual Windows computer and Microsoft is constantly improving the touch aspect of Windows.

Oh also one last thing, Palm Rejection when using the pen could be better, it takes some time to get used to.