
But there’s an important budget-related cut in each. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2’s keyboard and touchpad are solid, and do a good enough job of approximating what is available in Microsoft’s top laptops. However, most laptops at the price have one of these mid-grade resolution displays. It does not have enough pixels to make fonts look as smooth as they would do on a MacBook Air screen. Contrast is just slightly lower than average too, although this is something you’re only likely to notice in dim rooms.Īnd sharpness? The 1536 x 1024 pixel resolution has pixel density similar to that of a 13-inch Full HD laptop. While the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 looks reasonably well saturated to our eyes, it does not quite cover 100% of the sRGB colour gamut so is technically undersaturated. Less effective elements include contrast and colour. Just look at how it is slightly rounded at the corners, matching the curves of the lid. This is a glass touchscreen, one with a more carefully curated style than other laptop lines that start at at £500-odd.

We tried, and just about got by in blazing sunshine.

There’s no super-effective anti-reflective layer here, but you can use the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 outdoors. This really helps to combat the reflections you’ll see whenever you use the laptop in strong sunlight. Maximum brightness is impressive at 400 nits. It’s arguably more comfortable to work from all day than, for example, the widescreen HP Envy 13.ĭisplay quality is also fairly good, if predictably not a match for those of Microsoft’s non-budget devices. Displays like this max out the perception of screen space much more effectively than the classic 16:9 widescreen shape, at least when you are running work apps. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 has a 12.4-inch PixelSense display with a 3:2 aspect ratio. You can use the USB-C to charge if you have a powerful enough plug too, which is neat. Plus it’s a magnetised design that falls out if the cable is snagged. This means none of the standard ports are taken up when charging. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 also has a dedicated proprietary charging connector. The USB-C isn’t an ultra-fast Thunderbolt port either, just a regular USB-C with 10Gbps bandwidth - you can plug a monitor into this one, thankfully. These two little holes span generations of peripherals, but there’s no memory card slot or dedicated video out. You only get two ports, plus a headphone jack. However, its connectivity is pretty limited.


That’s one clear reason to pick the Go over virtually anything else. It’s significantly thinner and lighter than some of our favourite mid-range Windows laptops. It weighs just 1.13kg, and is slim at 15.7mm thick. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2’s portability is excellent.
