The Surface Laptop Go Is a Perfect (and Affordable) Smol Computer for Developers

Just don’t get the base model

Owen Williams
Debugger
Published in
6 min readOct 13, 2020

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Photos courtesy of the author

Microsoft’s latest device, the Surface Laptop Go, is a modern netbook done right.

As soon as you put your eyes on a Surface Laptop Go, you’ll get Chromebook vibes. It’s ultra-light at 1.1kg, tiny enough to throw in a bag at 15mm thick, and it sports a 12.4” touch screen. The materials also give off Chromebook energy, with recycled plastic at the base of the laptop and a metal coating on the top half, making it feel as premium as the rest of the Surface family — including the Surface Go, a predecessor to this device — but starting at a relatively low $599.

Despite being affordable, the hardware is surprisingly lovely. The keys have just the right amount of travel, and are much nicer to type on than the tablet keyboard found on the Surface Go. The trackpad is one of the best I’ve seen on a Windows PC, second only to the Surface Book’s. It has both USB-C and traditional USB ports, as well as a headphone jack and the company’s magnetic charging port.

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Owen Williams
Debugger

Fascinated by how code and design is shaping the world. I write about the why behind tech news. Design Manager in Tech. https://twitter.com/ow