Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 review

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 specifications :

Model	Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2
Screen size	12.4 inches
Screen resolution	1536 x 1024 pixels
Screen type	LCD
Touchscreen	Yes
CPU	Core i5-1135G7
GPU	intel Iris Xe
RAMP	4 Go, 8 Go
Storage	128 Go, 256 Go
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6 (ax)
Bluetooth	5.1
Operating system (OS)	Microsoft Windows 11, Microsoft Windows 11 Pro

Visually

No doubt on this new laptop go, It is a Surface product. The aluminum shell and the square mirrored Microsoft logo case brings simplistic elegance to this laptop. The device itself has nice rounded parts, but its edges are still very marked and can be a bit sharp. We do enjoy the outside aluminum case of the Laptop Go 2 but the inside is made of plastic which is definitely a downside compared to other laptops of the same category

On of the most distinctive specification of the Surface Laptop Go 2 is, without a doubt, the screen. First of all, its size with a 12.4 inches diagonal, not to small to watch movies or see everything and enough to put in your bag and bring it everywhere.
I had doubts at first, thinking “it will be too small for me” after already going from a 15″ screen to a 13″. Well, when you use it this does not really come to mind and the screen quality does make up for it.

Keyboard

How odd to see a keyboard compact like this in this tiny space. Microsoft had to make compromises but ended up offering almost everything we need.
First of all, the keyboard sensation is great, the keys themselves are very comfortable, and it is a real pleasure to type on this keyboard when you have the hang of it. Why ? Because the placement of the keys might be quite different from what you are used to and it will take some to get used to it. This can be really frustrating at first when you are used to type a lot of words a minute and end up looking at your keyboard to find a key !

The same goes for the trackpad, it is really pleasant to use even though the size is pretty small compared to the competition or larger Microsoft laptops.

Security-wise, the Laptop Go 2 managed to have a fingerprint reader integrated directly into the power button, which compensates for the lack of an infrared camera.

Connectivity

Minimal is minimal but what did we expect uh ? It comes down to the simple things but has we are on the verge of getting the same connectors everywhere I kind of accepts this fate. Calm down, I said kind of, because Microsoft is playing with us. So we do have a USB-C type connector but not for charging, no and why ? Well because Microsoft has their own charging port and you can only use it for this device, how convenient!
So it comes down to this : on the right you have the charging port and on the other side you will have a USB-C USB 3.2 Gen 2, a USB Type-A USB 3.2 and a combo jack.

I am still hoping that they will change their mind for future generations. I repeat people I repeat : If you use USB-C charging port you do not need to have many ports : easier to build smaller laptops and better for us to have only one cable to do everything. We will get there ! Trust in the -C

Screen

As I said before this is, to my mind, the difference Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has from other laptops.
No, you can remove the screen, there I said it, but you probably already new that 🙂
Ever though the screen is permanently attached to the body this 12.4-inch IPS LCD panel supports a definition of 1536 x 1024 pixels, a maximum refresh rate of 60 FPS and is tactile. It is really great to look at it and I love the details.

We can also appreciate the effort to make the screen covers 96% of the sRGB space, a maximum brightness of 374 cd/m² for a contrast ratio of 1088:1. This is pretty good for this category of laptop and you will enjoy watching movies on it

Battery

Once again here I am pretty happy but going to complain, just for the sake of finding the issues. My goal is always to give you insights so you can know the flaws before buying !
Microsoft has announced 13 hours of autonomy for the Surface Laptop Go 2, we are still quite far from that. We would really love to be there when they run the tests. Do they just turn the computer on for 13 hours without doing anything ? Probably.

But, now that it has been said you need to know that it will hold almost 10 hours with your normal computer use (much less if you use heavy software) which I consider pretty good since this is only a 12 inches laptops

Wrapping up

This Surface Laptop Go 2 is a great piece of technology and I really appreciate the design and the finish.
To my mind, it really feels like Microsft is catching up on Apple on very important aspects of all computers: the OS, the design and the solidity.
This laptop is great if you use a computer occasionally, you will be able to bring it everywhere and have great performance with a great design.
I especially enjoyed the keyboard and the screen quality.
However if you spend all day on your computer like I do this seems like a pretty small screen to work on with multiple windows and software at once