Microsoft is adding a new, low-end tablet, starting at $399[1], to its Surface line-up to help the company better compete with Apple's cheaper and smaller iPads.
Credit: Microsoft
Christened "Surface Go[2]," the 10-inch, 1.15 pound touch-screen tablets will be targeted at education, consumer and business customers. The devices are meant to work with a new Surface Type Cover (costing an addition $99 to $129) and Surface Pen (another $99).
The Surface Go will be available for purchase in the U.S. and Canada as of August 2, and the rest of the world later that month. Surface Go models with LTE built-in will be available later this fall, according to Microsoft, which isn't sharing the pricing for the LTE SKUs yet.
The Surface Go isn't simply a trimmed-down Surface Pro or a Surface 4 with new branding. Microsoft execs said they re-engineered the device, in terms of size, weight, balance and design to make it appeal to all types of users on the go. I had a chance to try typing (very briefly) on a device earlier this summer, and found it to be the most lappable Surface yet, since it's more compact and much more evenly weighted.
Under the covers, the Surface Go features an Intel Pentium Gold processor. It will be available in two configurations: 4GB of RAM/64GB of eMMC storage; 8GB of RAM and 128GB SSD storage.The devices will have a USB-C (non-Thunderbolt) port, along with a Surface Connect port. A micro SD expansion slot is under the kickstand. Microsoft is claiming nine hours of battery life when running a continuous video loop (which, to me, means more like 4 hours or so in real-life use).
Consumers will be able to buy Surface Go running Windows