Desktops and laptops
Back to Best Laptop And Tablet Reviews

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 (Model 2013) review

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 (Model 2013)

CHOICE Expert Rating

71%
What is the CHOICE Expert Rating?
Good points

Good Points

  • Very good touchpad
  • Very good screen
  • Very good viewing angles
  • Very good Wi-Fi speed
Bad points

Bad Points

  • USB-C port is non-Thunderbolt
  • Lacks HDMI
  • Lacks an SD card slot
  • Keyboard is not backlit
  • Charger is not USB-C (magnetic power connector)
  • Can not easily replace or upgrade components

Type

Ultraportable
Ultrabook
Tablet mode
Operating system
Windows 11 Home

Recommended products

Recommended
Not recommended
Recommended for tablet use

Test results

CHOICE Expert Rating
71%
Performance score
58%
Tablet use score
N/A
Ease of use score
80%
Battery life score
66%
Display score
82%
Audio score
62%
Wi-Fi score
82%
Storage write-speed (MBps)
1961
Storage read-speed (MBps)
2950
Wi-Fi speed (MBps)
45
Average battery life – heavy usage (hours)
5:45
Charging time to 80% full (h:min)
1:25
Expert tester comments
Microsoft's Surface Laptop Go 3 is small and to the point. You get a highly mobile 12.4-inch form factor, which weighs in at 1.1kg. The chassis is sleek and doesn't over-indulge; all that's on offer is USB-C (of the non-Thunderbolt variety), a headphone port, and a USB-A port (USB 3.1 spec). Storage is 256GB, and most everyday tasks will be handled well by a 12th Gen Core i5 CPU and 16GB RAM. That processor generation is the main difference between the Go 3 and last year's Go 2, increasing performance and battery life very modestly.

Sustainability

Shop Ethical rating
C
Warranty (years)
1
Replaceable battery
Replace/upgrade RAM
Slots for additional RAM
Replace/upgrade storage
Slot for additional storage
Replace/upgrade Wi-Fi
Country of origin
China

Related products

Availability
Discontinued model

Cost

Price
$1,729.00

Specifications

Screen size (inches)
12.4
Native screen resolution (pixels)
1536 x 1024
Processor (CPU) type
Intel Core i5-1235U
CPU frequency (GHz)
1.3
RAM (GB)
16
Video graphics type
Intel Iris Xe
Storage capacity (GB)
256
Available user space (GB)
195
Storage type
SSD
Wi-Fi version
6
Weight of laptop (kg)
1.1
Weight of power supply (kg)
0.22
Size (mm, H x D x W)
16 x 206 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

More products in this test

Apple 13-inch MacBook Air with Apple M4 chip (A3240)
78
Recommended

Apple 13-inch MacBook Air with Apple M4 chip (A3240)

$1,999
Dell Inspiron 15 3000 (3535)
67

Dell Inspiron 15 3000 (3535)

$999
Venom BlackBook Zero 15 Phantom (Dark Shadow Edition)
74

Venom BlackBook Zero 15 Phantom (Dark Shadow Edition)

$3,349

Looking for user reviews?

We don't offer user reviews anymore. Help us improve this expert review by sharing your feedback in a quick survey.