Microsoft Surface Go

The Microsoft Surface Go is an attractive computer with a great display. This sets the standard for affordable 2-in-1s, but it should have come with a keyboard.

The well-built Surface Go is the least expensive route into Microsoft's superb Surface tablet line, and the most portable option. Just know that frequent travelers will like it best, and the core processing power is on the light side.

The Surface Go is a quiet triumph for Microsoft. The company has successfully distilled what is best about the Surface Pro (portability, usability, great design) into a smaller, cheaper computer that doesn’t suffer performance issues as a result. We recommend spending more on the higher tier version that gets you more RAM and storage as in our tests it runs Windows 10 Home excellently. The annoyingly not included Type Cover is a necessity but it’s the best 2-in-1 keyboard in this size. It’s a 2-in-1 that doesn’t make us wish we had a traditional laptop instead, and for that it should be commended. Creatives and media junkies won’t like the small screen but as the cheapest Surface going this is by no means a compromised product. However, this device is now nearly two years old, so its successor in the Surface Go 2 may now be a better option. 

The newest Surface tablet has a 10-inch screen and starts at $399, but Dieter Bohn explains in his review why you should get the upgraded model, and why it’s so impressive.

Microsoft’s new Surface Go brings the Surface concept to everyone by shrinking the Surface Pro features into a tiny Surface

The Surface Go demonstrates two things. The first is that budget PCs don’t have to suck – a cheap, low performance processor can do Ok if you pair it with other good but not top-of-the-line components.

The 2018 iPad added support for the Apple Pencil, but had the same design as its 2017 predecessor and continued to miss off features like True Tone.

With the middling performance and not-cheap cost when you factor in the Type Cover, the Surface Go can't quite reach the heights of the 9.7-inch iPad, but the relative versatility that Windows 10 offers means the ultraportable Surface Go is still a solid alternative. One for Windows enthusiasts.