The Surface Below the Surface

Just when you thought you knew what a Microsoft Surface was, they've gone and muddied the waters again.

By that I mean, a Surface used to mean a tablet that works like a laptop.

These days of course, it means actual laptops too. It also means a quality product; each version I've tried over the last couple of years has delivered top-rate, reliable performance - no matter what the specific form-factor.

I've also been more than happy with Windows 11. It feels like a mature, efficient evolution of the Microsoft OS, not too flashy, adding a few useful features here and there yet retaining the things I like most about PC computing.

If I had a persistent criticism of the Surface ecosystem though, it's an oldie but a goodie; price. Microsoft has always charged a premium for these devices, stinging you even further for accessories like keyboard cases and styluses. 

Which is what makes the latest offering all the more appealing.

For starters, the Surface Laptop Go 2 doesn't really require any added extras - it's almost a perfect example of a laptop you just switch on and start using; no tweaking required.

Windows 11 Home is installed out of the box and these days, thanks mostly to my Office 365 subscription, setting up a device like this takes mere minutes, not hours.

In fact, operation of the Laptop Go 2 is generally pretty whizzy - certainly on the review device I was sent which is the higher specced of the three available configurations. Whichever one you go for, the brain under the hood is an 11th-gen IntelCore i5 processor, which rarely misses a beat. Personally, I'd advise against anything less than 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage these days, so this is the option I'd be looking at anyway - especially given you then have the choice of four colours; Platinum, Ice Blue, Sandstone and yes, Sage - it seems every device has to have a green option at the moment.

Surprisingly, the Laptop Go 2 is lightest of the Surface Laptops, weighing in at just over 1.1kgs. It doesn't seem at all flimsy though; something about the combination of aluminium, polycarbonate and glass fibre (including 30% recycled materials) lends a sturdy, no-nonsense feel to it all. You get the vibe this is the kind of laptop that'll survive being carted around in a schoolbag or satchel.

Other than its healthy processing power, another feature I was immediately impressed with is the battery - something Windows laptops are really only just recently getting a handle on. Oddly, I've read other reviews bemoaning a poor battery performance and yet I've found I've easily worked through the day on a single charge. Laptop batteries are mysterious beasts though; there's no hard and fast rule because there are just so many different things you can do with a laptop. Writing a tech review and uploading it on the back-end of a website isn't going to tax things too hard.

Streaming an episode of "For All Mankind" full-screen at maximum brightness is another story.

The good news here is the 39W power brick charges the Laptop Go 2 pretty briskly via its weird Surface Connect port. Even better news; you can charge via the USB-C slot too - rather convenient if you happen to have left the power brick behind. There's also a full-sized USB-A port which is handy - although having more than just two USB's and a headphone jack would be preferable.

The other big advantage the Laptop Go 2 has over many of its lower/mid range competitors is its 12.4-inch PixelSense display. While this is not a particularly high-definition display, it's still quite bright and the 3:2 aspect ratio always gives the impression there's plenty of screen real-estate for multiple windows and the like. But the biggest boon is its 10 point multi-touch prowess. If you're truly looking for a genuinely mobile laptop solution, you don't want to be carting a separate mouse around with you everywhere you go. I find the combination of trackpad and touch-screen pretty much eliminates the need for a mouse altogether - especially when you're dealing with a high-quality trackpad like this one.

The keyboard is also rock-solid and deliciously clicky. The keys have impressive travel and are well spaced out. There's also a hidden fingerprint sensor built into the power key which works very well - although I'd prefer my Windows Hello login to be via facial recognition. Unfortunately the 720p webcam just isn't up to that.

In fact, the camera is probably the weakest feature of the whole laptop. A poor quality camera isn't unusual on a laptop, although recently many manufacturers have really lifted their game in this department, acknowledging the increasingly essential nature of video meetings in our new hybrid-work world. Unfortunately, the Laptop Go 2's shooter is definitely fuzzier than most phone's selfie-cams.

On the bright side, the dual far-field mic array provides excellent, clear audio. The Omnisonic speakers also do a better-than-average job - not impressively bassy or anything but definitely loud and distortion-free.

Starting at NZ$1,099.00 for the 4GB RAM / 128GB SSD model and going up to NZ$1,499.00 for the 8GB RAM / 256GB version I'm writing this review on, the Surface Laptop Go 2 isn't super cheap - just reasonably cheap. But the great thing about it is it doesn't really feel any kind of cheap at all. It's a very well put together machine that's certainly lovely to type on, has excellent battery life for a Windows laptop, charges quickly and best of all, features a touch screen which is pretty hard to come by in this price bracket.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2.