Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Go 3 is a more capable budget laptop

Alan Truly
By
Surface Laptop Go 3 at Microsoft debut event.
Jacob Roach / DigitalTrends
This story is part of our complete Microsoft Events coverage

At today’s Surface event, Microsoft announced the third generation of its budget-priced Surface Laptop Go, the premium Surface Laptop Studio 2, and the Surface Go 4. Sporting a Microsoft pedigree, the Surface Laptop Go 3 is worth considering if you’re looking for a nice-looking touchscreen notebook.

Microsoft upgraded several components in this year’s offering to make the Surface Laptop Go 3 more competitive. Microsoft upgraded the processor to a 12th Gen Core i5-1235U, which deliversa massive upgrade of 88% faster performance. Memory and storage capacity are larger than ever for a Surface Laptop Go, with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. At the same time, battery life increases from 13 to 15 hours, so you can go all day with this laptop.

Recommended Videos

Ports include one USB-C and one USB-A, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and a Surface Connect port. The Surface Laptop Go 3 has Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity.

Microsoft's Surface Laptop Go 3 is shown on a white background.
Microsoft

The Surface Laptop Go 3 continues to provide several style choices. Microsoft offers its lightest Surface in four colors: platinum, ice blue, sage, and sandstone. The Surface Laptop Go 3 starts at $799, a significant increase over last year’s $600 Surface Laptop Go 2.

Related

The 12.4-inch touchscreen display is protected with Gorilla Glass 3 and reaches 320 nits of brightness, which is good for indoor use.

Upgrades are available, but add to the cost. Fully loaded, the Surface Laptop Go 3 will offer 16GB and a 512GB SSD, doubling memory and storage of the entry-level model. Make sure to check out our roundup of Surface Laptop Go 3 specs for a full rundown of the device.

Microsoft is touting AI in everything right now and showed several demonstrations of that in the Surface Laptop Go 3. In addition, the company demoed its new Surface Laptop Studio 2.

Despite the higher price, Microsoft builds reliable hardware and offers some unique features, such as the tall 3:2 aspect ratio that works well for a touchscreen laptop. Secure Windows Hello sign-in makes authentication quick and easy. The Surface Laptop Go 3 is also light, weighing less than 2.5 pounds.

To learn more or preorder, visit Microsoft’s Surface store.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Alan Truly
Alan Truly
Computing Writer
Alan is a Computing Writer living in Nova Scotia, Canada. A tech-enthusiast since his youth, Alan stays current on what is…
The M3 Max makes the MacBook Pro look like a nearly unbeatable laptop
Someone using a MacBook Pro on a table in front of a scenic background.

Apple announced an update to its MacBook Pros at today's Scary Fast event that brings the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max under the hood. That might sound like a ho-hum generational chip refresh, especially coming just 10 months after the M2 Pro/Max models came out. But trust me -- these new MacBook Pros have become an unstoppable force, especially the new full-tilt model with the M3 Max.

The 14-inch MacBook Pro (which replaces the 13-inch MacBook Pro) will now have the option for the M3, M3 Pro, or M3 Max, while the 16-inch model gets the M3 Pro and an even more powerful M3 Max configuration. Across the board, these new M3 chips are built on the new 3nm technology, the same that's used in the new iPhone 15 models, only scaled up for the Mac. It's all about efficiency, with Apple claiming that the M3 chips provides the same performance at 30% less power.

Read more
Everything announced at Apple’s ‘Scary Fast’ event: iMac, M3, and more
Apple revealing new Macs at an event.

Apple's unexpected "Scary Fast" event has wrapped, and the 30-minute presentation was packed full of announcements. Headlining the showcase was Apple's new M3 chip, which is showing up in a variety of devices in just a week from now.

We have the lowdown on everything Apple announced at its unprecedented fall event, which kicks off the third generation of Apple's silicon with two major product updates.
M3 family of chips

Read more
Apple’s new M3 looks fast, but will it really be worth the upgrade?
Logos for Apple's M3 chips.

The new Apple M3 is the "most advanced chip ever built for a personal computer," according to Apple. Debuted during Apple's "Scary Fast" event and sporting a new process, the M3 promises up to 60% higher performance in some apps. But will it really be worth an upgrade over the M1 or M2?

We've already seen the M2 at work in devices like the Mac mini, and we'll have to wait until the M3 launches to really know how it performs. But based on what we know right now, here's how the M3 stacks up to the M2.

Read more