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00:00Hey, how's it going? Dave2D here. This is the Microsoft Surface Go, and when they first announced it, I was interested in it.
00:05It seemed like a pretty compelling device. Having used it for a little while,
00:09I really think this is seriously the best product that Microsoft has put out in a very long time.
00:14This thing starts at $400. I don't think that base configuration is where you want to spend the money, though.
00:19They have a mid-tier one,
00:21$550, quite a bit more, but you're getting double the RAM, double the storage, but significantly faster storage.
00:26That is the model I think most people should pick up, if you can afford that price bump.
00:30So, this unit here is that mid-tier model, the $550 unit, and...
00:37I really like it. Okay, let's go around this thing. Build quality is great.
00:41It's a Surface product, it has a magnesium enclosure, fit and finish on this is really well done.
00:46The top surface has these new rounded edges, and it actually makes the device a lot more comfortable to hold.
00:50Not that the original Surface products are, like, uncomfortable,
00:54but this small detail just makes it that much more ergonomic and that much more inviting to use.
00:59It's a nice touch, and I think Microsoft should put this kind of
01:03rounded edge on all of their products, because it does make a difference. The screen is a 10-inch screen.
01:07I thought it'd be a little bit small for what I do, but it actually isn't. It is noticeably smaller compared to, like, a 12 or 13-inch screen,
01:13but it doesn't feel particularly cramped. It's still a very usable surface area. The bezels around that screen, though, are thick. Now, visually,
01:20it's not attractive, right? Having thick bezels like this doesn't look good, but when you're actually using it, you won't notice it.
01:26You'll be focused on your content.
01:27It's just that when this device is off, or it's just sitting there, and you're kind of examining it visually, the bezels are thick.
01:33The pen itself is nice.
01:35It's sharp, great colors and brightness, and hitting a price point like this with this kind of screen could not have been easy. Like, we
01:41see four or five hundred dollar devices out there that have terrible screens. This thing looks really good.
01:46There is pen support as usual, and it feels relatively lag-free to me.
01:50I'm not an artist,
01:51but the surface area feels reasonably sized for people that want to use it for any kind of digital creative work.
01:56Now, on the side are two speakers, and they sound really good for this kind of device size. Nice body to the sound,
02:01excellent stereo separation just from the positioning, and you just get really clean audio that gets to a decent volume.
02:07You also get a killer, killer webcam. $400 gets you a webcam of this quality.
02:12It's actually one of the best webcams I've seen on any laptop, period,
02:15but when you compare this webcam to something like a 12-inch MacBook, it just blows my mind.
02:20I mean, if you can stick a webcam like this into a $400 device, there's no excuse for other people.
02:25They should be using really good webcams, and no one else is doing it, but Surface does, so good for them.
02:31This device, though, is not complete without the keyboard, and the keyboard is
02:39a hundred bucks, which is crazy expensive. If you think about it, that's like, at the base model,
02:43that's 20% of the cost, but
02:46that's what we have. Okay, when it's connected up and it connects magnetically, it is an awesome,
02:53awesome productivity device.
02:54So, I was concerned that this keyboard would be really small and cramped and just kind of weird feeling, because it is a lot smaller
03:00than the regular Surface devices. It's not cramped. It's excellent.
03:04It does take a little bit of time to get used to it, but it is a really comfortable keyboard. The trackpad feels good.
03:09It's a Surface product, so tracking is accurate and gestures work nicely, but the pad is a little small.
03:15Maybe it's a visual thing. I just wish there's a little bit more surface area to this trackpad. Okay, performance on this device is
03:22good. It's not amazing.
03:23It's a Pentium Gold chip, and most productivity stuff, like emails, web browsing, or any kind of work-related stuff, runs really smoothly on this.
03:30So, the drive speeds on the mid-tier model are actually really good. Fast read speed,
03:34but on the slower drive of the base model, the whole system is going to feel a bit more sluggish, and that reason alone makes
03:38it worth it to upgrade to the mid-tier model.
03:41Battery life is also pretty good, getting around seven hours of battery life, and to charge it,
03:45you can either use the included Surface Connect adapter, or you can use the USB-C port.
03:49I really wish that the included adapter was USB-C, but it's Surface Connect, because, well, that's Microsoft for you.
03:56Okay, gaming performance. I was actually surprised by this.
03:59You're not gonna be able to play some killer AAA titles,
04:01but light games are pretty good on this thing. If you want to pick it up for some casual light games,
04:05it'll do the trick. Now, the Surface Go is still a Surface product through and through,
04:09so if there are issues you had with Surface products in the past, you may have those same issues with this one.
04:14Like, if you need more ports, there's still only one port. It's USB-C this year, but it's still only one port.
04:19If you don't like the kickstand on your lap, like, it's not an ideal situation for lap use,
04:24but it does work reasonably well. Plus, it has infinite positions, up to a certain degree,
04:29but, I don't know, this makes it fairly usable for most people, I think.
04:33But if you've had issues in the past, same issues now.
04:36Overall, though, really good product. I think for students, this is such a good option.
04:41You get so much versatility on this thing. You get a great keyboard for taking notes.
04:44You can pull up course material and stuff in class. Good option.
04:47Great for media consumption, for, like, a secondary device, if you want it for that.
04:50I think you can't go wrong with this. It is, however,
04:54not cheap. Once you add everything up together, like the keyboard and the, like, the mid-tier unit,
04:59it's not the $400 device that they're kind of marketing, so you kind of have to take that into consideration.
05:04But overall, I like this thing.
05:06Okay, hope you guys enjoyed this video. Thumbs if you liked it, subs if you loved it.
05:09See you guys next time.