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Surface Laptop SE vs. Surface Go - Detailed Specs Comparison

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

BY Evan Forrest February 21, 2026

Surface Laptop SE vs. Surface Go

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. While the 2018 Surface Go features the 6W 7th Generation Intel Kaby Lake dual-core Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y with a clock speed of 1.60 GHz.

If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 11.6″ Surface Laptop SE (2021) and the 10″ Surface Go (2018), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface Laptop SE vs. Surface Go: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Laptop SE See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Go See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new	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	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 SE	Surface Go
Released	2021	2018
Release Info	Introduced on November 9, 2021	Introduced: July 10, 2018 Pre-ordered: July 10, 2018 Released: August 2, 2018
Pricing	Starting at $249.99	Surface Go for Consumer $399 - 4 GB \| 64 GB \| W10 S-mode $549 - 8 GB \| 128 GB \| W10 S-mode Surface go for Commercial $449 - 4 GB \| 64 GB \| W10 Pro $599 - 8 GB \| 128 GB \| W10 Pro
Amazon Deals	$169.90 Microsoft Surface Laptop SE, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD (Renewed) $168.90 Microsoft Surface Laptop SE 11.6" N4120 8GB 128GB eMMC (Renewed) Not Available Microsoft Surface Laptop SE, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD (Renewed)	$174.44 Microsoft Surface Go 3-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium Gold-4GB Memory - 64GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum Windows 11 PRO (Renewed) $198.50 Microsoft Surface Go 2-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Core m3-8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum Windows 11 PRO (Renewed) $674.99 Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)

Microsoft Surface Laptop SE Price
	Microsoft Surface Laptop SE, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD (Renewed) By Microsoft $169.90	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop SE 11.6" N4120 8GB 128GB eMMC (Renewed) By Microsoft $168.90	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop SE, Celeron N4120, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD (Renewed) By Microsoft Not Available	See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Go Price
	Microsoft Surface Go 3-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium Gold-4GB Memory - 64GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum Windows 11 PRO (Renewed) By Microsoft $174.44	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 2-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Core m3-8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum Windows 11 PRO (Renewed) By Microsoft $198.50	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $674.99	See at Amazon

Display	Surface Laptop SE	Surface Go
Size	11.6 Inches	10 Inches
Info	Resolution: 1366 x 768 (135 PPI) Liquid Crystal Display Module Aspect ratio: 16:9	Resolution: 1800 x 1200 (2.1M Pixels) Density: 217 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 SE	Surface Go
Size Comparison
Dimensions	11.17” x 7.6” x 0.70” (283.70 x 193.05 x 17.85 mm)	9.6” x 6.9” x 0.33” (245 mm x 175 mm x 8.3 mm) Width: 9.6” (245 mm) Height: 6.9” (175 mm) Thickness: 0.33” (8.3 mm)
Weight	2.45 lbs. (1,112.4 g)	Surface Go: 1.15 lbs (522 g) Surface Go with LTE: 1.17 lbs. (532 g) Surface Go Keyboard: 0.55 lbs (249 g)
Colors	Glacier	Platinum
Keyboard and Trackpad	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.	Surface 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	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.	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 microSD™ card reader 1 x Type Cover port

Internal Specs	Surface Laptop SE	Surface Go
Processor	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	7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4415Y 2 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 GHz, 2MB SmartCache, 6W
Integrated Graphics	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	7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4415Y Intel® HD Graphics 615 24 Execution Units, 300 → 850 MHz
Memory	4GB 8GB 2400 MHz DDR4 Memory	4GB 8GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage	64GB 128GB eMMC	64GB eMMC 128GB 256GB SSD

Connectivity	Surface Laptop SE	Surface Go
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 5 (2x2): IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.	Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 LE technology	Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology
		Optional LTE Nano SIM Tray 4G LTE Advanced (22 Bands: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66) GPS/GLONASS: Standalone and Assiste GNSS, accuracy up to 3 meters

Battery	Surface Laptop SE	Surface Go
Size	35Wh	26.12 Wh
Battery Life	Up to 16 hours of typical device usage	Up to 9 hours of video playback
Power Supply	45W Barrel type power adapter [email protected].	24W proprietary Surface Connect power supply

Software	Surface Laptop SE	Surface Go
OS	Windows 11 SE	For Consumer: Windows 10 in S-mode For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro
Built-in Apps	Microsoft 365 for Education	Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial

Camera & Audio	Surface Laptop SE	Surface Go
Camera	1MP Front facing camera With up to 720p 30fps video	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	2W Stereo Speakers Single digital microphone	Single microphone 2W Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium

Misc	Surface Laptop SE	Surface Go
Inking	Not Support	Supports Surface Pen 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel magnetic storage
Sensors	1 x Hall-effect Sensor	Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer
Security	TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security	HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box	Surface Laptop SE Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Go Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty
More	Exterior Casing: All plastic bodies unpainted Physical buttons: Power button and Volume buttons on Keyboard Hinge: 135 degrees open angle	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