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Surface Laptop Go vs. Surface Go 3 - Detailed Specs Comparison

Here's what you need to know what's different between Surface Laptop Go and Surface Go 3 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

BY Evan Forrest November 21, 2023

The 2020 Surface Laptop Go features the 15W 10th Generation Intel Ice Lake quad-core Intel Core i5-1035G1 with the boost speed up to 3.60 GHz. While the 2021 Surface Go 3 features the 5W 10th Generation Intel Amber Lake Y dual-core Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y up to dual-core Intel Core i3-10100Y with the boost speed up to 3.90 GHz.

If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 12.45″ Surface Laptop Go (2020) and the 10.5″ Surface Go 3 (2021), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface Laptop Go vs. Surface Go 3: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Laptop Go See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Go 3 See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new	The most affordable Surface Laptop. Starting at $549.99, the Surface Laptop Go set a new premium standard for the affordable ultrabook. It has a beautiful 12.45-inch display with touch support. It's a great laptop for students and business users who looking for a simple yet perfect portable laptop for their mobile productivity. The Lightest Surface Laptop. It weighs at only 2.45 pounds easy to carry around while having the same comfort in typing with a full-size keyboard with a large precision trackpad. All the same ports. It has all the necessary ports you need in everyday use, from the full-size USB-A to USB-C, headphone jack, and Surface Connect as you can find on Surface Laptop 3. Powerful Components. It comes with the same powerful 10th Gen Intel Ice Lake Core i5 processor, 3733 MHz LPDDR4x, WiFi-6, Bluetooth 5. New Styles. It is available in Platinum, Sandstone, and Ice Blue. More Features: 13-hours battery life Large glass trackpad Fast Charging Fingerprint Power Button Dual far-field studio mics OmniSonic speakers	More Powerful Processors - The Surface Go 3 now features the latest 10th generation Intel Mobile processors, including Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0, resulting in faster speeds up to 3.40 GHz, particularly on the entry-level models. Longer Battery Life - Last up to 11 hours battery life of typical device usage. More Now with the Matte Black option Preloaded with Windows 11 Supports fast charging
What's missing	Here are some noticeable downsides of Surface Laptop Go: No backlit key. No Inking support. No IR camera for Windows Hello Facial Recognition. No Fingerprint reader on the entry configuration. The base section made from Polycarbonate instead of Aluminum. Using Intel UHD Graphics instead of Intel Iris Plus Graphics. Low screen resolution (148 PPI).

Availability	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Go 3
Released	2020	2021
Release Info	Introduced: October 1, 2020 Pre-ordered: October 1, 2020 Released: October 13, 2020	Introduced: September 22, 2021 Pre-ordered: September 22, 2021 Released: October 5, 2021
Pricing	For Consumer (Windows 10 Home): $549.99 - i5 \| 4GB \| 64GB eMMC \| No Fingerprint \| Platinum only $699.99 - i5 \| 8GB \| 128GB SSD $899.99 - i5 \| 8GB \| 256GB SSD For Commercial (Windows 10 Pro): $799.99 - i5 \| 8GB \| 128GB SSD $999.99 - i5 \| 8GB \| 256GB SSD $1,199.99 - i5 \| 16GB \| 256GB SSD \| Platinum Only	$399 Gold 6500Y 4 GB 64 GB WiFi $549 Gold 6500Y 8 GB 128 GB WiFi $629 i3-10100Y 8 GB 128 GB WiFi

Surface Laptop Go Price
	Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 (2023) - 12.4" Touchscreen, Thin & Lightweight, Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD SSD, with Windows 11, Platinum Color By Microsoft $799.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2-12.4" Touchscreen - Intel Core i5 8GB Memory - 128 SSD - Ice Blue (Latest Model) By Microsoft $580.92	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop Go - 12.4" Touchscreen - Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 256GB SSD - Platinum By Microsoft $549.00	See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5” Price
	Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $500.00 $629.99 21% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 4GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $372.49 $399.99 7% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Black (Latest Model) By Microsoft $429.18 $549.99 22% OFF	See at Amazon

Display	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Go 3
Size	12.45 Inches	10.5 Inches
Info	Resolution: 1536 x 1024 (148 PPI) PixelSense™ Display Aspect ratio: 3:2 Touch: 10 points multi-touch	Resolution: 1920 x 1280 (2.45M Pixels) Density: 220 PPI PixelSense™ Display Contrast ratio: 1500:1 Aspect ratio: 3:2 Inking: designed together with Surface Pen Touch: 10 points multi-touch Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3

Exterior	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Go 3
Size Comparison
Dimensions	10.95” x 8.1” x 0.62” (278.18mm x 205.67 mm x 15.69 mm)	9.65” x 6.9” x 0.33” (245 mm x 175 mm x 8.3 mm) Width: 9.65” (245 mm) Height: 6.9” (175 mm) Thickness: 0.33” (8.3 mm)
Weight	2.45 lb (1,110 g)	Surface Go 3: 1.2 lbs (544 g) Surface Go 3 Keyboard: 0.55 lbs (249 g)
Colors	Ice Blue Sandstone Platium	Platinum Matte Black
Keyboard and Trackpad	Keyboard: Full-size keyboard with a soft-touch feel and full 1.3mm travel. Trackpad: Larger size 115 mm x 76.66 mm, glass. Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.	Surface Go Type Cover Not included Keyboard: Full-size mechanical backlit keyset with 1 mm of key travel. Trackpad: Precision glass trackpad. Trackpad size: 101 mm x 56 mm Supports a five-finger multitouch gesture.
Ports	1 x Full-size USB 3.0 1 x USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 2 Supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort. 1 x Surface Connect™ Supports charging and docking station. 1 x Headset jack	1 x USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 1 Supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort. 1 x Surface Connect™ Supports charging and docking station. 1 x Headset jack 1 x microSDXC™ card reader 1 x Surface Go Type Cover port

Internal Specs	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Go 3
Processor	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G1 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.00 → 3.60 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W	10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.10 → 3.40 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 5W 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 5W
Integrated Graphics	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G1 Intel® UHD Graphics 32 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz	10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y Intel® UHD Graphics 615 23 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y Intel® UHD Graphics 615 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz
Memory	4GB 8GB 16GB 3733 MHz LPDDR4X RAM	4GB 8GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage	64GB eMMC 128 GB 256 GB SSD	64GB eMMC 128GB SSD

Connectivity	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Go 3
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.	Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology	Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
		LTE version coming soon.

Battery	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Go 3
Size	39.7 Wh	28Wh Nominal battery capacity. 26.8Wh Minimum battery capacity.
Battery Life	Up to 13 hours of typical device usage	Up to 11 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply	39W power supply Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in just over one hour)	24W proprietary Surface Connect power supply

Software	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Go 3
OS	For Consumer: Windows 10 Home in S-mode For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro Free upgrade to Windows 11	Windows 11 Home in S-mode
Built-in Apps	Microsoft 365 Family 30-day trial	Xbox Game Pass Ultimate one month trial Microsoft 365 Family one month trial

Camera & Audio	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Go 3
Camera	720p HD f2.0 front-facing video camera	Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing) 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p Skype HD video 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p full HD video
Audio	Dual far-field Studio Mics OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium	Enhanced dual far-field Studio Mics 2W stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™

Misc	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Go 3
Inking	Not Support	Supports Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP) 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel magnetic storage
Sensors	Ambient light sensor	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer
Security	Firmware TPM Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello sign-in One-Touch sign in with FingerPrint Reader Power button Note Surface Laptop Go i5/4GB/64GB does not include Fingerprint Power Button.	HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box	Surface Laptop Go 39W Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Go 3 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty
More	Best-in-class support from Microsoft Store Microsoft Store Promise for Surface: 60-day return policy 90 days of free technical phone support Free virtual workshops and training Surface price promise	Mechanical features: Signature unibody magnesium design with hidden perimeter venting Kickstand with a full-friction multiposition hinge to 165 degrees Magnetic attach for keyboard fold stability Physical buttons: volumes, power Casing: Magnesium