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

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

BY Evan Forrest February 21, 2026

Surface Laptop Go vs. Surface Laptop SE

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 Laptop SE features the 6W Intel Gemini Lake Refresh dual-core Intel Celeron N4020 up to quad-core Intel Celeron N4120 with the boost speed up to 2.60 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 11.6″ Surface Laptop SE (2021), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface Laptop Go vs. Surface Laptop SE: 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 Laptop SE 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	The most affordable Surface Laptop - Starting at $249, the Surface Laptop SE helps students achieve the skills they need for their future with a laptop designed for Windows 11 SE and Microsoft 365 for Education. Easy to Repair - Surface Laptop SE has replaceable components including the keyboard, display, battery, and mainboard without special tools required. 11.6-inch HD Liquid Crystal Display Module. Up to Intel® Celeron® Processor N4120 (4C/4T, Up to 2.60 GHz, 4MB Cache) Up to 8GB DDR4 Memory. Available only in Glacier More Up to 16-hours of battery life Microsoft Precision touchpad Full-size keyboard
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).	No backlit key. No touch screen. No Inking support. No IR camera for Windows Hello Facial Recognition. No Fingerprint reader. All plastic bodies instead of Aluminum. Using Intel UHD Graphics instead of Intel Iris Plus Graphics. Lowest Surface screen resolution (135 PPI).

Availability	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Laptop SE
Released	2020	2021
Release Info	Introduced: October 1, 2020 Pre-ordered: October 1, 2020 Released: October 13, 2020	Introduced on November 9, 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	Starting at $249.99
Amazon Deals	$189.99 Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 12.4" Touch 4GB 64GB eMMC Core™ i5-1035G1 1.0GHz WIN11H, Platinum (Renewed) $309.00 Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 12.4" Laptop, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Platinum (Renewed) \| Touchscreen, Intel Core i5-1035G1 $229.99 Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 12.4in Touchscreen Intel i5 8GB 128GB SSD Ice Blue (Renewed)	$128.44 Microsoft Surface Laptop SE, Celeron Processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, Monza Gray $180.37 Microsoft Surface Laptop SE CELERON 8GB RAM 128GB SSD, Glacier $229.99 Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 12.4in Touchscreen Intel i5 8GB 128GB SSD Ice Blue (Renewed)

Surface Laptop Go i5-1035G1 Price
	Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 12.4" Touch 4GB 64GB eMMC Core™ i5-1035G1 1.0GHz WIN11H, Platinum (Renewed) By Microsoft $189.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 12.4" Laptop, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Platinum (Renewed) \| Touchscreen, Intel Core i5-1035G1 By Microsoft $309.00	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 12.4in Touchscreen Intel i5 8GB 128GB SSD Ice Blue (Renewed) By Microsoft $229.99 $490.40 53% OFF	See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Laptop SE Price
	Microsoft Surface Laptop SE, Celeron Processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB SSD, Monza Gray By Microsoft $128.44	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop SE CELERON 8GB RAM 128GB SSD, Glacier By Microsoft $180.37	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 12.4in Touchscreen Intel i5 8GB 128GB SSD Ice Blue (Renewed) By Microsoft $229.99 $490.40 53% OFF	See at Amazon

Display	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Laptop SE
Size	12.45 Inches	11.6 Inches
Info	Resolution: 1536 x 1024 (148 PPI) PixelSense™ Display Aspect ratio: 3:2 Touch: 10 points multi-touch	Resolution: 1366 x 768 (135 PPI) Liquid Crystal Display Module Aspect ratio: 16:9

Exterior	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Laptop SE
Size Comparison
Dimensions	10.95” x 8.1” x 0.62” (278.18mm x 205.67 mm x 15.69 mm)	11.17” x 7.6” x 0.70” (283.70 x 193.05 x 17.85 mm)
Weight	2.45 lb (1,110 g)	2.45 lbs. (1,112.4 g)
Colors	Ice Blue Sandstone Platium	Glacier
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.	Keyboard: Full-size keyboard with a soft-touch feel and full 1.3mm travel. Trackpad: Microsoft Precision Touchpad. Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gestures.
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	Left Kensington lock slot Right 1 x USB-A 1 x USB-C 1 x DC-in Barrel type power connector. 1 x Headset jack Standard 3.5mm jack.

Internal Specs	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Laptop SE
Processor	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G1 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.00 → 3.60 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W	Intel® Celeron® Processor N4020 2 cores, 2 threads, 1.10 → 2.80 GHz, 4MB Cache, 6W Intel® Celeron® Processor N4120 4 cores, 4 threads, 1.10 → 2.60 GHz, 4MB Cache, 6W
Integrated Graphics	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G1 Intel® UHD Graphics 32 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz	Intel® Celeron® Processor N4020 Intel® UHD Graphics 600 12 Execution Units, 200 → 650 MHz Intel® Celeron® Processor N4120 Intel® UHD Graphics 600 12 Execution Units, 200 → 700 MHz
Memory	4GB 8GB 16GB 3733 MHz LPDDR4X RAM	4GB 8GB 2400 MHz DDR4 Memory
Storage	64GB eMMC 128 GB 256 GB SSD	64GB 128GB eMMC

Connectivity	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Laptop SE
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.	Wi-Fi 5 (2x2): IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology	Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 LE technology

Battery	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Laptop SE
Size	39.7 Wh	35Wh
Battery Life	Up to 13 hours of typical device usage	Up to 16 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply	39W power supply Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in just over one hour)	45W Barrel type power adapter [email protected].

Software	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Laptop SE
OS	For Consumer: Windows 10 Home in S-mode For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro Free upgrade to Windows 11	Windows 11 SE
Built-in Apps	Microsoft 365 Family 30-day trial	Microsoft 365 for Education

Camera & Audio	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Laptop SE
Camera	720p HD f2.0 front-facing video camera	1MP Front facing camera With up to 720p 30fps video
Audio	Dual far-field Studio Mics OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium	2W Stereo Speakers Single digital microphone

Misc	Surface Laptop Go	Surface Laptop SE
Inking	Not Support
Sensors	Ambient light sensor	1 x Hall-effect Sensor
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.	TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
In the box	Surface Laptop Go 39W Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Laptop SE Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Warranty	One-year limited hardware 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	Exterior Casing: All plastic bodies unpainted Physical buttons: Power button and Volume buttons on Keyboard Hinge: 135 degrees open angle