Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 12.4" Platinum 2020

The Surface Laptop Go is a beautifully built, ultra-light laptop that's perfect for basic tasks on the go. Its compact size is best-in-class, but the tiny 128GB SSD and low-res screen are major compromises. Only buy it if portability is your absolute top priority and you find it at the low end of its price range.

The 10th Gen Core i5-1035G1 handles everyday tasks like web browsing, Office, and streaming without breaking a sweat, which is what this machine is built for. But don't push it. The integrated Intel UHD graphics land in the 47th percentile, so gaming is a complete non-starter, and the 8GB of RAM sits in the bottom 14th percentile, meaning you'll feel the pinch if you keep more than a handful of browser tabs open. It's a focused tool for light work, not a multitasking powerhouse.

Stacked against modern competitors like the Apple MacBook Air M4 or the ASUS Zenbook UX3405CA, the Surface Laptop Go shows its age. Those machines offer vastly superior screens, performance, and battery life. Even the HP OmniBook X Flip and Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro run circles around it in terms of raw power and display quality. The Surface's only real win here is its compact, lightweight body, but you're sacrificing a lot of modern niceties to get it.

Pricing on this model is all over the map, with a wild spread from $329 to an absurd $158,153 across vendors. At the low end, around that $329 mark, you're getting a beautifully built, ultra-portable Windows machine for basic tasks, and that's a solid deal. But if you're seeing it anywhere near the higher end of that range, run. For the real-world price, it's a fair trade-off if you value portability over raw specs.

The Surface Laptop Go is Microsoft's answer to the question: what if you want a premium-feeling laptop but don't want to spend premium money? It nails the basics with a solid metal build, a decent keyboard, and a weight of just 1.11kg that makes it a joy to carry around. But to hit that lower price, Microsoft made some cuts you'll feel every day, especially with that cramped 128GB SSD and a screen resolution that feels stuck in 2010.

If you need to store more than a handful of apps and documents, skip this. The 128GB drive will fill up fast, and there's no way to expand it. Also, anyone who needs to run demanding software or keep dozens of browser tabs open will find the 8GB of RAM frustratingly limiting.

This is a laptop for a very specific person: someone who needs a featherlight Windows machine for writing, email, and web browsing, and absolutely nothing more. It's a dedicated secondary computer or a student's note-taking companion, not a primary workhorse. If your needs are that simple, you'll love the build quality and portability. If you need to do any real work, look elsewhere.