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00:00Hey guys, I'm Tomatek Chap and I've been out and about testing this, the brand new
00:05Microsoft Surface Go 3, which from just £369, or $399, is the most affordable Surface tablet
00:13slash 2-in-1 laptop, if you add the optional type cover keyboard, you can buy.
00:18But the thing is, despite its iPad-like size, this is a full-fat Windows 11 PC, and actually
00:24it's one of the first devices to ship with Windows 11 out of the box, and Microsoft reckon
00:29this is good enough to replace your tablet and maybe your laptop as well.
00:34But with so many good normal laptops, and iPads, and Chromebooks, and also the rest
00:39of the Surface lineup that's just been updated, should you go for the Go, or should it just
00:43go away?
00:44I'll see myself out, sorry, sorry.
00:50I have to say, when I first unboxed this and started using it, I did get a sense of deja
00:55vu because the Surface Go 3 looks and feels identical to the Go 2.
01:00The type cover is exactly the same as well, so really the headline with the Go 3 is the
01:05fact that we get new Pentium Gold and also 10th Gen Core i3 processor options, which
01:10Microsoft reckon will bring a 60% boost in CPU performance, which spoilers, isn't exactly
01:16what I found.
01:17It is also a little bit cheaper here in the UK this time around, although the US pricing
01:21seems to have stayed the same.
01:23So the Go 3 arrives alongside a bunch of other updated Surface devices, including probably
01:28its closest rival, its own big brother, just like in my own family to be honest, the Surface
01:32Pro 8.
01:34And the price of your Pro 8 is kind of the same idea as the Go, only with better specs,
01:38a 120Hz screen, and much, much better performance.
01:42To be honest, there's just nothing else quite like the Go 3 in terms of what it can
01:46do and also the premium build quality for this kind of money.
01:50Well, apart from last year's Go 2, which actually might be a better buy.
01:55Maybe.
01:56Hmm.
01:57Because generally 2-in-1 laptops are a lot more expensive than this, particularly in
02:00its entry-level spec, and also if they are a 2-in-1 laptop, you still have that bulky
02:05keyboard that has to sort of fold over on itself and you can feel it on the back.
02:09Not really the best way to use a tablet.
02:11So you do have that proper tablet and laptop experience here, and it doesn't cost a fortune,
02:16at least in its entry-level spec.
02:18And to be honest, the closest in terms of form is probably an iPad with a keyboard.
02:23But then again, the Go has full-fat Windows 11, which is a lot more flexible in terms
02:27of app compatibility and options.
02:29And I think really it's aimed at students and workers, people who need an ultra-portable
02:34device that can do a bit of office work, watch Netflix, browse the web, and also is pretty
02:39decent for taking notes and doodling and drawing.
02:42Just a good all-rounder laptop.
02:44But annoyingly, the Go 3 also inherits the same stingy storage options.
02:49You just get 64 or 128 gigs.
02:51It's less of a problem if you're just browsing or streaming and maybe everything's in the
02:55cloud.
02:56And also we do get a microSD card slot, which mitigates the problem a little bit, but with
03:00Windows 11 and a few apps installed along with your files, you might find that you need
03:04some extra external storage.
03:07But there's potentially a bigger issue because once you go up to the mid or high-level specs
03:12of this and then you add a type cover keyboard, which I would definitely recommend because
03:15without it, it feels a bit incomplete.
03:18This does start to get pretty pricey.
03:21Once you move up to the mid-spec with its equally lightweight performance Pentium, and
03:25you're suddenly at £500 or £625 with a touch cover, and then if you go for the Core
03:30i3 version, then you're looking at around £700 with a type cover.
03:34And for that much money, you can get a far more powerful regular laptop with more storage,
03:39although having said that, I get that people who want a Go 3 might not want a normal laptop.
03:44So putting price to one side for a minute, in terms of design, this really is lovely.
03:50And it looks and feels a lot more premium than the base price might suggest, with a
03:54smart lightweight magnesium alloy body and a sharp and responsive 10.5-inch 3x2 touchscreen.
04:01Although again, it is the same as the Go 2, but that's no bad thing.
04:05It's also surprisingly easy to use one-handed as a tablet, and if you punch up the scaling
04:10factor in Windows, it's easy enough to navigate around, although it's still not quite the
04:14same as a dedicated tablet OS like on an iPad, so sometimes icons and edges of Windows
04:19can get a bit tricky to move and resize.
04:21It's also pretty light at just 544 grams or 1.2 pounds, and while there's easy access
04:27to power and volume buttons, judging by the location of the cameras and the speakers,
04:31this has been designed to use horizontally most of the time.
04:34We do also get a USB-C port which can be used for charging, as well as a headphone jack
04:38and also Microsoft's Surface Connector, also for charging and plugging in hubs like
04:43the expensive Surface Dock if you want extra ports.
04:46So as you're using it, the ports are all down the right-hand side, although I don't
04:50love the position of the Type-C port halfway up, which keeps the power cable in your eyeline
04:54the whole time.
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06:06So why not give it a try?
06:08But I tell you what, I do still really love this hinge, I think it's one of the absolute
06:11highlights of the Surface lineup, particularly the Go 3, there's nothing else that feels
06:15as robust as this.
06:17You can fold it almost all the way down, but there's still a little bit of incline which
06:20makes it more comfortable for browsing or drawing on, and you get these little cutouts
06:24on the chassis on the side so you can easily flip it out.
06:27And also, if you want, the stand actually works in a vertical orientation, although
06:31only if you don't mind it being bolt upright.
06:34The signature type cover keyboard is just as lovely as ever as well, it doesn't add
06:38much to the weight, and it turns this into a properly usable laptop alternative.
06:42The regular type cover is covered in a microfiber material, but for an extra £25 or dollars,
06:48you can get this Alcantara-clad signature cover, which I have to say does feel a lot
06:52nicer.
06:53In terms of typing feel, I think it's way better than Apple's Smart and Folio iPad
06:58keyboards.
06:59It's a lot closer to the much more expensive Apple Magic keyboard, although I do still
07:02prefer that overall.
07:04Although be careful, because there's zero resistance in this hinge, so if you tilt it
07:08too far forward or you close it without really looking, then it might come crashing down
07:11and crush your fingers, as happened to me.
07:14So for my money, while this does make the whole package a bit more expensive, the type
07:18cover is an absolute essential addition to the Go 3.
07:22Now as for this 10.5-inch PixelSense screen, which again is about the same size as one
07:27of the regular iPads, by laptop standards this is pretty small, but then again that
07:31small ultra-portable-ness is what you're paying for here.
07:35Image quality-wise, it does what it needs to when it's sharp enough for most users,
07:38and it gets reasonably bright.
07:40Colour accuracy is good, although not quite pro-level or anything, but easily good enough
07:44for what most of us need.
07:46And then if you fancy paying a bit more, then you can also go for this new Surface Slim
07:50Pen 2, and also there's a haptic motor to give you more of a sense of drawing on a real
07:54paper.
07:55It's really good.
07:56It's not quite as convenient as the iPad and the Apple Pencil, where you can just wirelessly
08:00charge it by attaching it to the side.
08:02This does just about hold there, although the magnets aren't very strong, but you actually
08:06have to plug this into a separate little cradle for it, but for any keen doodlers, note-takers
08:10and well, artists, I guess, this is definitely worth considering.
08:14And then we have the 1080p webcam.
08:17I'm in my little new studio, we've got Pete filming here, and the quality is actually
08:21very good.
08:22One thing I can say about almost all Surface devices is that the webcam, the selfie camera
08:26if you will, the quality is very good.
08:28It's 1080p, and the colours are pretty accurate, the noise is quite low, so yeah, despite its
08:34flaws, one of the perks of having a go like this is you get one of the best webcams in
08:39that kind of price range.
08:41So altogether we have a 5 megapixel camera on the front, which can also be used for Windows
08:45Hello face unlocking, and also an 8 megapixel camera on the back, which is the footage you're
08:49seeing now, and they both do very good 1080p video, which to be honest is probably what
08:53you'll be mostly using them for, although it's handy if you need to take a photo of
08:56some documentation or something.
08:58Okay, let's get to the elephant in the ointment, if I'm going to mix my metaphors.
09:03Let's talk about performance.
09:05Because it's not great.
09:07Even with this top spec Core i3, performance in Windows 11 can be a bit laggy and unresponsive
09:12sometimes.
09:13I criticised the Go 2 for the same reason, and despite Microsoft's claims of a 60%
09:18performance boost with the new processors, I can't say it felt noticeably quicker.
09:23In fact, if you look at the Geekbench results for the top spec Go 2 vs the 3, performance
09:27is only maybe 5-10% faster, which is considerably lower than 60%.
09:33I mean maybe I am a little bit spoiled in terms of the hardware I generally use and
09:37I kind of expect that instant responsiveness, and obviously for most people this will be
09:41perfectly fine, most people don't care about a 1 second lag or a little bit of delay when
09:45you're opening folders and files, but I think for £700 for this high spec Core i3,
09:51the equivalent regular laptop with probably a 10th or 11th gen i5 would be a lot more
09:56powerful and you would feel that difference.
09:58And I also haven't been able to test the lower spec Pentium versions of the Go 3, which
10:02also come with much slower eMMC flash storage.
10:06And so I dread to think how the eMMC version performs, especially as that only has 4 gigs
10:11of RAM.
10:12But I suppose one consolation is that it's completely silent because, well, it doesn't
10:16have a fan.
10:18As for gaming on the Go, well there's not exactly a lot of graphics power on tap here
10:22and to give you an idea, in Rainbow Six Siege at 1080p with the lowest settings, I got 11
10:28FPS.
10:29Although at 720p that bumped up to 19.
10:31But still, there is a better way and that's cloud gaming, whether it's through Nvidia's
10:35GeForce Now or Xbox cloud gaming.
10:38And so because you're streaming the games from the cloud, you're not using the relatively
10:42low power hardware in the Go 3 and it also doesn't really drain your battery life.
10:46Although you do need a pretty good internet connection and ideally you'd use a wired
10:49ethernet port via an adapter, although the Go 3 does have Wi-Fi 6.
10:54So assuming you're not going to be doing heavy 4K video editing or rendering on this and
10:58you're just using it for basic everyday kind of stuff and maybe cloud gaming, then it's
11:03going to be absolutely fine.
11:04But one area I was a little bit more disappointed with is the battery life because it was actually
11:09pretty good on the Go 2, but this seems to be a bit worse.
11:13So for example, yesterday I was writing this review on it, I was watching some videos,
11:17browsing the web, all on mid to high-ish brightness, you know, everyday kind of stuff, and by around
11:22the 7 hour point I was out of juice.
11:25And it only managed 7 and a half hours in my full screen video test, which was pretty
11:29disappointing and nowhere near the 11 hours that Microsoft claims.
11:34So let's wrap up and I guess my conclusion for this Surface Go 3 review is if you do
11:39quite like the idea of buying one of these, maybe go for the Go 2 from last year.
11:44The battery's better, the performance isn't really that much different, at least in my
11:47experience, same screen, same design, and since it's been out for a year, if you can
11:51get it on a deal or on sale then, well, it's probably a better buy.
11:55I mean there's nothing wrong with this per se, but it's just not really much of an upgrade,
12:00which is not something I say very often and I have to say I've come away from this a little
12:04bit disappointed.
12:05I did expect more.
12:06I think it's still going to be a good option for a lot of people who want a basic all-rounder
12:10machine and really do value that ultra-portability, but for most people, a regular laptop is a
12:16better option in terms of performance and battery life.
12:19This really only makes sense in the lower entry-level specs if you're not that bothered
12:23about performance.
12:24But what do you reckon?
12:25Am I being a bit harsh or do you think Microsoft could have done a bit better this time?
12:28Let me know what you think of the Go 3 in the comments below.
12:31Thank you so much for watching guys.
12:33If you did enjoy the video, then a cheeky little like and subscribe would be lovely
12:36and I'll see you next time right here on the Tech Chap.