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Microsoft Surface Laptop Go (1943) review

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go (1943)

CHOICE Expert Rating

69%
What is the CHOICE Expert Rating?
Good points

Good Points

  • Very good Wi-Fi speed
  • Short time to charge to 80%
  • Very good touchpad
  • Thin screen bezel makes it look appealing
Bad points

Bad Points

  • No SD card slot
  • Lacks HDMI
  • Keyboard is not backlit

Type

Ultraportable
Ultrabook
Tablet mode
Operating system
Windows 10 S

Recommended products

Recommended
Not recommended
Recommended for tablet use

Test results

CHOICE Expert Rating
69%
Performance score
55%
Tablet use score
N/A
Ease of use score
73%
Battery life score
71%
Display score
74%
Audio score
60%
Wi-Fi score
80%
Storage write-speed (MBps)
823
Storage read-speed (MBps)
1993
Wi-Fi speed (MBps)
43
Average battery life – heavy usage (hours)
5:48
Charging time to 80% full (h:min)
1:09
Expert tester comments
The Surface Laptop Go offers a highly portable form factor in a chassis that feels very comfortable to hold. It's a clamshell-style laptop with a touchscreen, and it can not be used as a tablet. The keyboard and touchpad are comfortable to use, but the lack of a backlight for the keys is disappointing for anyone who needs to type in low-light conditions. Its specs provide more than enough power for everyday office and media consumption tasks. It comes with Windows 10 S by default, so will have to be switched to Windows 10 Home (free) if apps outside of the Microsoft Store are to be installed.

Sustainability

Shop Ethical rating
C
Warranty (years)
1
Replaceable battery
Not collected
Replace/upgrade RAM
Not collected
Slots for additional RAM
Not collected
Replace/upgrade storage
Not collected
Slot for additional storage
Not collected
Replace/upgrade Wi-Fi
Not collected
Country of origin
China

Related products

Availability
Discontinued model

Cost

Price
$1,549.00

Specifications

Screen size (inches)
12.4
Native screen resolution (pixels)
1536 x 1024
Processor (CPU) type
Intel Core i5-1035G1
CPU frequency (GHz)
1
RAM (GB)
8
Video graphics type
Intel UHD Graphics
Storage capacity (GB)
256
Available user space (GB)
197
Storage type
SSD
Wi-Fi version
6
Weight of laptop (kg)
1.1
Weight of power supply (kg)
0.2
Size (mm, H x D x W)
17 x 226 x 278

Features

Screen finish
Glossy
Touchscreen
USB-C
USB 2.0 ports
0
USB 3.0 ports
1
USB 4 as USB-C port
0
USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 1 or 2, not Thunderbolt 3 or 4) ports
1
Thunderbolt 3 or 4 (as USB-C) ports
0
SD card slot (full-size)
SD card slot (micro)
HDMI port
Gigabit ethernet port
Rear camera
Backlit keyboard levels of brightness
0

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