A few months ago my 12.9″ iPad Pro Smart Keyboard stopped working. Yeah, the one that costs $169. It was a few years old, but I had taken very good care of it. I did a thorough online search to see what the problem might be, and how I could fix it, but unfortunately came up empty handed.
I was miffed. That keypad was expensive, and I didn’t feel that it should need to be replaced after only a few years of careful use. I wasn’t going to invest a chunk of cash in another one.
I liked my iPad, but it just wasn’t cutting it as a laptop replacement. It was great for consuming media, but just couldn’t match the functionality of a true laptop when it came to creating and producing content. The lack of a true file system was probably the biggest drawback to me.
I’ve been an Apple fanboy for a long time, and I’m not quite sure how the Microsoft Surface Go ended up catching my eye, but starting at only $399 it seemed worth a shot.
I did some more research on it, and decided to stop in to my local Microsoft Store to test one out. If I liked it, I’d take it home with me.
After a few minutes of playing around with it, I was sold. This little device was a great little touchscreen laptop. Notice I said laptop and not tablet. While the device is supposed to be a tablet, it feels and operates more like a laptop in my eyes. The apps and tablet features just don’t match those of an iPad.
I chose the 64GB / 4GB RAM configuration, but there was a promo happening and I ended up getting the 128GB / 8GB version for the same price. Score. I picked up a Surface Pen, and ordered a Signature Type Cover as well.
After several months of use, I can say that I still love the thing. The pen works great and is very responsive. The type cover has a trackpad built into it, which helps make the device feel more like a laptop when you don’t want to use the touch screen. The touchscreen is accurate and responsive. Best of all, it’s running a desktop version of Windows, with all the functionality and file systems of a laptop or desktop computer.
I really like the pen and how easy it is to mark up documents and screenshots with it. The keyboard is a bit small, but it’s not a huge deal to me.
The one thing I wish it could do, is integrate into the Apple ecosystem somehow. I know, it’ll never happen, but if I could AirDrop files and photos between my iPhone and the Surface Go, I’d be in productivity heaven.
All in all, the Microsoft Surface Go is a worthy option for anyone looking for a lightweight touchscreen laptop, that can kind of do some tablet things, too.