Six months ago, I purchased the Surface Laptop Go 2, and have been using it near daily since. I love this little PC! I used to say that my computing needs would have been perfectly compatible with using a Chromebook, except for the fact that my most commonly used software requires Windows and a bunch of stored files. Still true today - it's important that you know what you need to use the computer for, to make sure that you don't buy too little computer for your needs. But it's also important, if you're trying, like me, to buy the smallest, lightest laptop that you can, that you know what you don't need, so that you can more accurately decide where you are able to cut corners. This laptop gives me everything I need, and not much that I don't need. Light weight, durable, and runs Windows were my must haves. Large storage capacity, fancy screens, speed, tons of ports, etc, might have been nice to have but certainly weren't necessary to my purposes. I'm very happy with my little Surface, and thank you to you for helping me determine my priorities and gauging whether this laptop would meet my needs.
Excellent review, 5-stars. Hit all the important points without getting distracted with the ones that are not so important. THIS is the review to watch if you are considering the Surface Go 2 laptop.
This is a brilliant review, thanks for this. Looks really good but still a little disappointed that it doesn’t have Thunderbolt 4 support and a backlit keyboard. However, the fact it’s repairable is certainly most welcome. Microsoft should really lower the price a little for the top end model.
Hey buddy. Thanks for watching and subscribing! Hear ya on the thunderbolt and backlit keyboard. I can live without TB but backlit is a big deal for many folks. But... At $599 I guess it's forgiveable but you're right, on the high priced model not so much.
I have a blue! Full Specs, amazing laptop! I think the ports is not a problem, I have a Microsoft mouse bluetooh, heatphones bluetooth, everything works well, if I want a monitor i plug my USB C dongle HDMI and take my bluetooth keyboard, its perfect.
Thanks for the video. I am looking for a second laptop to accompany my MacBook Pro and this seems perfect. Especially with the 8GB model on sale for $549.
7:08, your comment reminds me of the military trigger on our rifle and pistol. There is a tad bit of play, maybe a half millimeter, pull the trigger it hits a stop. Now, when you want to fire, add bit more pressure the trigger fires the weapon; think get ready, get set, fire.
Thanks for watching and yep, I think right now it’s the perfect balance of a screen. Touch, 3:2 ratio, solid resolution and pixel density without being too much, 120hz and the thing folds almost flat. It’s seriously impressive and underrated.
@@mikedropstech What is the default scaling on this machine? On my Surface Book 3 and my Surface Studio desktop are both set to 200% scaling and it is so perfect for the programs I use. I love the screen on Surface Laptop Studio but the screen default is 150% and a program I use a lot scales best at 100% and 200% which stinks! Thanks again for the great stuff.
The Go3 will release this October, and I can't decide whether I go for Go3 or this one since there is a minimal change. Do you think its worth it to buy the i5 12 gen.?
Laptop Go 2 : 1536 x 1024 (148 PPI) 15.6" Laptop : 1920 x 1200 (145 PPI) The density of the pixels is measured in pixels per inch. PPI determines the physical size of each pixel. If both Laptop Go 2 and a 15.6" Laptop both roughly have 145 pixels per inch, does that mean if these two screens were to compared side by side, the FONT would be the same size on both displays? This is important for people who read lots of text and do word processing. Can you do a video to demonstrate this?
Hey buddy! Thanks for watching and asking a great question. In theory that’s how it should work however, in the windows world you also need to factor in the screen scaling. Different manufacturers like to shop at different levels so the 15” for example might ship at 200% or 225% (depending on which screen you choose). The laptop go being smaller is likely somewhere in the 100% or 125% range (I can’t remember exactly off hand). That means the fonts will look different. It’s one of the reasons I love the Surface Laptop Studio screen but not the Surface Laptop 4 screen as much because their default scaling settings make the SLS perfect for my eyes.
If you ONLY use a laptop to connect to work computers via VMWare. What are the most important aspects to the laptop to ensure descent speed/connection. Processor speed, RAM, etc.?
I haven't spent a whole lot of time with VMWare, but from what I understand, everything will combine to improved performance. Connection speed, processor / ram etc. too.
Good review. The intel 11th gen should be significantly better for power and heat usage over 10th gen due to the 10nm transistor size. instead of 14nm. I just picked one of the 8gb 128gb models on black friday special for $620 AUD which coverts to about £350.
Such a great video. Please answer if possible. Just a quick and only question before buying this laptop. Is 1920x1080 videos (movies) run smoothly on this laptop? otherwise I'll end up buying one more laptop for that;)
Hey buddy! Happy to help. Just fired it up and ran some TH-cam at 1080p AND 4K with zero issues or lagging that I can see. Was pretty impressed actually as I didn't think it would handle the 4K. Fans did kick on but it played perfectly.
Thank you. I want a laptop for traveling, and am heavily leaning this way. My needs are different than most reviewers assume is normal. My priority is light weight and portability, because we'll be "roving retirees", at least for a while. I use it for genealogy, so it must run Windows, and Mac's don't do that well enough for my genealogy software to work well. I do a lot of toggling between screens, since it's common to have one or two windows open showing documents while typing in info from those documents into my software. Strongly considering getting a portable monitor as well. And I have lots of files, both internally and backed up in multiple places, so ideally 512GB storage would be best. I think I can live with an external drive but would rather have internal. Honestly, the Surface looks best, and the size of the Laptop Go 2 is so tempting. I'm just worried about storage. Do you think they'll offer a bigger SSD next year?
I’m not sure on that. The challenge for MS is the same one Apple has, they can’t make their lower priced devices too strong because they want to encourage the upgrade. One thing to consider with the work you’re doing is whether the screen size will be big enough for you. You might want to look at one in person if you haven’t seen one yet to make sure you’ll be happy!
Wow. That doesn’t sound right. Mine has gotten a little warm so far but nothing different than most other laptops. Sorry to hear you may have received a bad unit 😩.
this has gotta be the most underrated channel on youtube
yeah definetly
Dude, I hear ya and kind of agree! Busting my chops trying to grow it 😱
Thanks for the ❤!
Six months ago, I purchased the Surface Laptop Go 2, and have been using it near daily since. I love this little PC!
I used to say that my computing needs would have been perfectly compatible with using a Chromebook, except for the fact that my most commonly used software requires Windows and a bunch of stored files. Still true today - it's important that you know what you need to use the computer for, to make sure that you don't buy too little computer for your needs. But it's also important, if you're trying, like me, to buy the smallest, lightest laptop that you can, that you know what you don't need, so that you can more accurately decide where you are able to cut corners. This laptop gives me everything I need, and not much that I don't need. Light weight, durable, and runs Windows were my must haves. Large storage capacity, fancy screens, speed, tons of ports, etc, might have been nice to have but certainly weren't necessary to my purposes.
I'm very happy with my little Surface, and thank you to you for helping me determine my priorities and gauging whether this laptop would meet my needs.
Glad to hear you’re loving it!
Excellent review, 5-stars. Hit all the important points without getting distracted with the ones that are not so important. THIS is the review to watch if you are considering the Surface Go 2 laptop.
😍😍😍
I had a similar issue with the trackpad. I returned it and got a new one which does not have that wobble. Great review!
Good to know. I figured it's probably just a bad one but a shame they don't have something as basic as a trackpad nailed down by now 😱!
i had the same issue with the wobble.. i returned it. the new one is coming soon i hope i dont have it again.. its frustrating
What color that you choose?
@@mikedropstech what color that you choose?
@@rizalarifin2742 I’m loving the green colors of all the new surface devices!
This is a brilliant review, thanks for this. Looks really good but still a little disappointed that it doesn’t have Thunderbolt 4 support and a backlit keyboard. However, the fact it’s repairable is certainly most welcome. Microsoft should really lower the price a little for the top end model.
Hey buddy. Thanks for watching and subscribing! Hear ya on the thunderbolt and backlit keyboard. I can live without TB but backlit is a big deal for many folks. But... At $599 I guess it's forgiveable but you're right, on the high priced model not so much.
I have a blue! Full Specs, amazing laptop! I think the ports is not a problem, I have a Microsoft mouse bluetooh, heatphones bluetooth, everything works well, if I want a monitor i plug my USB C dongle HDMI and take my bluetooth keyboard, its perfect.
Enjoy!
Thanks for the video. I am looking for a second laptop to accompany my MacBook Pro and this seems perfect. Especially with the 8GB model on sale for $549.
Enjoy!
7:08, your comment reminds me of the military trigger on our rifle and pistol. There is a tad bit of play, maybe a half millimeter, pull the trigger it hits a stop. Now, when you want to fire, add bit more pressure the trigger fires the weapon; think get ready, get set, fire.
That sounds exactly like it! Great insight buddy. Thanks for sharing 😀
Surface Studio scaling is glorious too. Icons and all just looks perfect. Nice video once again.
Thanks for watching and yep, I think right now it’s the perfect balance of a screen. Touch, 3:2 ratio, solid resolution and pixel density without being too much, 120hz and the thing folds almost flat. It’s seriously impressive and underrated.
@@mikedropstech What is the default scaling on this machine? On my Surface Book 3 and my Surface Studio desktop are both set to 200% scaling and it is so perfect for the programs I use. I love the screen on Surface Laptop Studio but the screen default is 150% and a program I use a lot scales best at 100% and 200% which stinks! Thanks again for the great stuff.
This review was the deciding factor for me. Thanks Mike!
Well hey Nik! Glad I was able to help. Enjoy the new device buddy!
The Go3 will release this October, and I can't decide whether I go for Go3 or this one since there is a minimal change. Do you think its worth it to buy the i5 12 gen.?
Go 3 seems like a solid upgrade in terms of performance!
Laptop Go 2 : 1536 x 1024 (148 PPI)
15.6" Laptop : 1920 x 1200 (145 PPI)
The density of the pixels is measured in pixels per inch. PPI determines the physical size of each pixel. If both Laptop Go 2 and a 15.6" Laptop both roughly have 145 pixels per inch, does that mean if these two screens were to compared side by side, the FONT would be the same size on both displays?
This is important for people who read lots of text and do word processing.
Can you do a video to demonstrate this?
Hey buddy! Thanks for watching and asking a great question. In theory that’s how it should work however, in the windows world you also need to factor in the screen scaling. Different manufacturers like to shop at different levels so the 15” for example might ship at 200% or 225% (depending on which screen you choose). The laptop go being smaller is likely somewhere in the 100% or 125% range (I can’t remember exactly off hand). That means the fonts will look different. It’s one of the reasons I love the Surface Laptop Studio screen but not the Surface Laptop 4 screen as much because their default scaling settings make the SLS perfect for my eyes.
If you ONLY use a laptop to connect to work computers via VMWare. What are the most important aspects to the laptop to ensure descent speed/connection. Processor speed, RAM, etc.?
I haven't spent a whole lot of time with VMWare, but from what I understand, everything will combine to improved performance. Connection speed, processor / ram etc. too.
Good review. The intel 11th gen should be significantly better for power and heat usage over 10th gen due to the 10nm transistor size. instead of 14nm. I just picked one of the 8gb 128gb models on black friday special for $620 AUD which coverts to about £350.
Wowsers.... that's a deal 😱
Such a great video. Please answer if possible. Just a quick and only question before buying this laptop. Is 1920x1080 videos (movies) run smoothly on this laptop? otherwise I'll end up buying one more laptop for that;)
Hey buddy! Happy to help. Just fired it up and ran some TH-cam at 1080p AND 4K with zero issues or lagging that I can see. Was pretty impressed actually as I didn't think it would handle the 4K. Fans did kick on but it played perfectly.
Great review. You have a new subscriber :-)
Well hey buddy! Thanks for watching and hitting that subscribe button 😁. You’re AMAZING!
Hi, is the USB A in 2.0 or 3.0?
USB 3.1!
Dope review rad gear.
😱 thanks buddy!
Thank you. I want a laptop for traveling, and am heavily leaning this way. My needs are different than most reviewers assume is normal. My priority is light weight and portability, because we'll be "roving retirees", at least for a while. I use it for genealogy, so it must run Windows, and Mac's don't do that well enough for my genealogy software to work well. I do a lot of toggling between screens, since it's common to have one or two windows open showing documents while typing in info from those documents into my software. Strongly considering getting a portable monitor as well. And I have lots of files, both internally and backed up in multiple places, so ideally 512GB storage would be best. I think I can live with an external drive but would rather have internal.
Honestly, the Surface looks best, and the size of the Laptop Go 2 is so tempting. I'm just worried about storage. Do you think they'll offer a bigger SSD next year?
I’m not sure on that. The challenge for MS is the same one Apple has, they can’t make their lower priced devices too strong because they want to encourage the upgrade. One thing to consider with the work you’re doing is whether the screen size will be big enough for you. You might want to look at one in person if you haven’t seen one yet to make sure you’ll be happy!
Love your channel man, just sub your channel
Woohoo! Thanks for the ❤️ and the sub! Really appreciate it!!
Returned my surface laptop go, that thing overheat's with no apps running.
Wow. That doesn’t sound right. Mine has gotten a little warm so far but nothing different than most other laptops. Sorry to hear you may have received a bad unit 😩.
Am I watching the US President's speech or am I watching the unboxing of a Microsoft computer ? 🤔
😱
all I can say is LMFAO. What ever price you find this at it's trash. Apple M1 Mac book Air is the only small laptop to buy.
😳