Microsoft Announces Cheaper Surface Laptop Go, Updates Pro X

Microsoft announced two devices today: the Surface Laptop Go, an affordable 12.4-inch laptop, as well as a new configuration of the Surface Pro X with a new Microsoft SQ2 processor. Both are available for pre-order and will go on sale on October 13.

The Laptop Go starts at $549 and boasts a 12.45-inch, 1536 x 1024 3:2 display. It will use Intel’s 10th Gen Core quad-core Core i5-1035G1, and will feature up to 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.The keyboard will offer 1.3 mm of key travel, and the touchpad will use Windows 10 precision drivers. The chassis will come in sandstorm, ice blue or platinum, with an aluminum lid and a polycarbonate composite base. 

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While the regular Surface Laptop uses an IR camera for facial recognition, the Laptop Go has a fingerprint reader in the power button. Ports include both USB Type-A and USB Type-C, a headphone jack and the proprietary Surface Connector. Microsoft is promising up to 13 hours of battery life for the new hardware, as well as fast charging.

One disappointment here is that the Surface Laptop Go utilizes a 720p webcam, rather than the 5MP camera with 1080p video capability we saw earlier this year on the Surface Go 2. This is surprising, as Microsoft is positioning the Laptop Go for students and professionals working from home.

It will come running Windows 10 Home in S Mode, which should work for many of Microsoft’s own apps, but if you need anything outside of the Microsoft Store, you’ll need to switch out of S Mode for free.

The big change to the Surface Pro X is that the 2-in-1 will see the Microsoft SQ2 system on a chip in top-end configurations, and the tablet will also be available in platinum as well as the black color that’s currently on sale. This chip, like the SQ1, has been developed with Qualcomm, and we suspect that the SQ2 is based on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G. But this tablet is only offering LTE connectivity.

New configurations of the Surface Pro X, with the SQ2, will start at $1,499.99.

There are three new color options for the keyboard cover: platinum, poppy red and ice blue, with room to store the optional Surface Slim Pen. 

Our biggest issues with the Surface Pro X when it launched were with software compatibility on Windows 10 on Arm. Here’s how Microsoft is describing it’s progress:

“Surface Pro X brings you the best of today’s web-first experiences like Microsoft 365, Microsoft Edge, Netflix, Spotify and more, while supporting thousands of the existing Windows apps you know and love today like Google Chrome, Firefox, and Whatsapp. We are also excited about the momentum we are seeing from key app partners embracing Windows on ARM, taking advantage of the power and performance benefits of Microsoft SQ1 and SQ2 processors to bring new experiences to all Surface Pro X customers.”

Microsoft also claims Edge and Teams will be faster on these chips while using less battery life, and is promising up to 15 hours across both configurations of the Surface Pro X.

Lastly, Microsoft is introducing new accessories today: a $69.99 Designer Compact Keyboard to switch between three devices on two-year battery life; a $24.99 Bluetooth number pad; a $69.00 4K wireless display adapter to project Windows 10 to a TV or large monitor; and a $49.99 Bluetooth ergonomic mouse.