In June 2022, Microsoft announced
their latest Microsoft Surface model – the Surface Laptop Go 2. The original
Surface Laptop Go was released back in 2020, and this new model is promising to
offer sufficient performance and power to complete a day’s work, but packed
into an even smaller body, making it great for flexible and mobile working.
In Microsoft’s own words, their goal
with this laptop is ‘enabling mobility for the flexible workplace’. As flexible
and hybrid working is increasing in popularity – for instance, many London
IT support companies in the last 2 years have seen
customers looking for help and guidance with adapting to remote and hybrid
work.
Microsoft are offering the Surface
Laptop Go 2 to both consumers, and wholesale to enterprises. The main
difference between the two options is that when purchased for enterprises,
models can be shipped with Windows 10 Pro and Windows 11 Pro; whereas the
consumer models only ship with Windows 11 Home.
What has changed?
If you had the original Surface
Laptop Go, and are expecting a drastic overhaul in design and specs, then you
may want to look elsewhere. The updates included in the Laptop Go 2 are
encouraging, but modest. Perhaps the biggest update is that Microsoft have
opted to upgrade the Laptop Go’s CPU from the 10th Gen Intel Core processors that were
in the original model, to the new 11th Gen
chips. Released just over a year ago now, the 11th gen chips will offer better speeds
for running multiple tasks and processes on these laptops.
The new chip is not the only upgrade,
either. Microsoft have also indicated that the laptop’s 720p webcam has been
improved, as well as the dual mics – this indicates that the Laptop Go 2 is
well equipped for videoconferencing – a practice that many businesses have
adopted over the last 2 years.
Price and Release
Pre-order shipping and general
release starts on the 7th of
June, 2022. The Laptop Go 2 will be available in a number of models. The base model
ships with a 128GB solid-state drive, which is paired with 4GB of RAM, as well
as an 11th Gen
Intel Core i5-1135G7 chip. Many people are remarking that the upgraded chip is
the biggest update; however, many people are arguing that the best news is the
upgrade to the internal storage; the original Surface Laptop Go’s internal
storage maxed out at just 64GB – doubling the internal storage for the Laptop
Go 2 was a good move on Microsoft’s part.
As mentioned above, the base model
for the Laptop Go 2 ships with 4GB – this model costs $599. But for a little
extra, you can get a model with 8GB, and enterprises can order models with 16GB
of RAM.
Other Specifications
In terms of graphics, the Surface
Laptop Go 2 uses integrated Iris XE graphics. This model also features a
12.45-inch touchscreen with PixelSense with a resolution of 1536 x 1024, and an
aspect ratio of 3:2 – fairly standard for a modern notebooks, but it should
serve both consumer and professional users well. The Laptop Go was known for
having punchy colours and a decent solution for its size.
The original Laptop Go had a
understated, minimal aesthetic, and the new model looks to be the same – it was
announced that it would also be available in a new Sage colour. The new model
also has a handy fingerprint sensor built-in, thus supporting
password-alternative authentication, which is something that Microsoft are
working to make available on all future platforms.
In terms of wired connectivity, the
Laptop Go 2 includes a USB Type-C port, a USB Type-A port, a Surface Connect
port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. As for wireless connectivity this model
features Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 support.
