Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Go won the hearts of millions of students and casual users, thanks to its affordable pricing. It is the best entry point into the Surface ecosystem and with the introduction of the Surface Laptop Go 3, the company has sweetened the deal even more with a capable yet efficient device starting at an attractive price of $799.
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All That’s New With The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3
Just like the Surface Laptop Studio 2, Microsoft hasn’t changed much on the outside for the Surface Laptop Go 3. The most significant upgrades came to the internals instead. This seems to be a common theme for the company’s 2023 hardware line-up and I’m not complaining. Surface devices are well-built and have a tight integration of Windows 11 and all its features.
Upgraded internals and improved performance
For the Surface Laptop Go 2, Microsoft settled for a low-power Intel Core i5-1135G7 and the biggest issue with this CPU was its low core count (4C, 8T) which resulted in the device being underpowered for a number of moderately intense tasks. With the Go 3, the company has addressed this by upgrading the CPU to an Intel Core i5-1235U. This is a 10-core CPU with 2 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores and it also has faster Boost Clock speeds with higher TDP for better-sustained performance.
The RAM is also faster with LPDDR5 speeds compared to LPDDR4x in the last generation device. Go 3 now starts at 8GB RAM (instead of 4GB in the Go 2) and there’s also a 16GB option (up from 8GB in the Go 2) at the top end. The storage was doubled as well and you get either a 256GB or a 512GB removable SSD to pair your laptop with.
Combining a more capable CPU with faster LPDDR5 RAM and more Storage to work with, the new Surface Laptop Go 3 is a significant upgrade over its predecessor. The power efficiency has improved as well. While the battery capacity still remained the same at 41Wh, the device now gets an extra 1.5 hours of rated battery life (up to 15 hours compared to 13.5 hours in Go 2).
Display, Build, and everything else
The display is rocking a 12.4-inch LCD panel with a resolution of 1536×1024 (3:2) and 350 nits of peak brightness. It is indeed a Touchscreen which isn’t common for Windows devices in this price segment and Microsoft has also included Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection on top. The color accuracy is also good thanks to all the panels being individually color-calibrated.
Build quality has remained almost exactly the same with an Aluminum top and Aluminum-Polycarbonate-composite built bottom. However, there is a new selection of available colors to choose from, for a more stylish look. The port selection includes a USB 3.2 Type-C port, a USB 3.1 Type-A port, a 3.5mm Headphone Combo Jack, and a Surface Connect Port for charging. Wireless connectivity has been improved with an upgrade to Wi-Fi 6E and you’re also getting Bluetooth 5.1.
Surface Laptop Go 3 is now Available on Amazon
The subtle upgrades on the third-gen Surface Laptop Go add up to create a more practical experience. It now appeals to a larger audience and the price is still reasonable. If you find yourself in that audience group and you’re thinking about getting Microsoft’s new Surface Laptop Go 3, then you can order one from Amazon. The base model with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD will cost you $799 and you can also choose one of the new colors that’ll match with your personal vibe.
