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

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

BY Evan Forrest November 21, 2023

Surface Laptop SE vs. Surface Laptop 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 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.

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 12.45″ Surface Laptop Go (2020), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface Laptop SE vs. Surface Laptop 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 Laptop 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	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
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).	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 SE	Surface Laptop Go
Released	2021	2020
Release Info	Introduced on November 9, 2021	Introduced: October 1, 2020 Pre-ordered: October 1, 2020 Released: October 13, 2020
Pricing	Starting at $249.99	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

Surface Laptop SE Price
	Microsoft Surface Laptop SE CELERON 8GB RAM 128GB SSD, Glacier By Microsoft $258.74 $272.72 5% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop SE CELERON 8GB RAM 128GB SSD, Glacier (Renewed) By Microsoft $209.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5in Touchscreen Intel i7 16GB RAM 256GB Windows 10 (Renewed) By Microsoft $399.90	See at Amazon
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, Sandstone Color Copilot By Microsoft $649.00 $799.99 19% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2-12.4" Touchscreen - Intel Core i5 8GB Memory - 256 SSD - Platinum (Latest Model) By Microsoft $608.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 12.4" Touch 8GB 256GB SSD Core™ i5-1135G7 2.4GHz Win10S, Platinum (Renewed), Silver By Microsoft $396.74	See at Amazon

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

Exterior	Surface Laptop SE	Surface Laptop Go
Size Comparison
Dimensions	11.17” x 7.6” x 0.70” (283.70 x 193.05 x 17.85 mm)	10.95” x 8.1” x 0.62” (278.18mm x 205.67 mm x 15.69 mm)
Weight	2.45 lbs. (1,112.4 g)	2.45 lb (1,110 g)
Colors	Glacier	Ice Blue Sandstone Platium
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.	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.
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 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

Internal Specs	Surface Laptop SE	Surface Laptop 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	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G1 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.00 → 3.60 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
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	10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G1 Intel® UHD Graphics 32 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
Memory	4GB 8GB 2400 MHz DDR4 Memory	4GB 8GB 16GB 3733 MHz LPDDR4X RAM
Storage	64GB 128GB eMMC	64GB eMMC 128 GB 256 GB SSD

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

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

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

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

Misc	Surface Laptop SE	Surface Laptop Go
Inking	Not Support
Sensors	1 x Hall-effect Sensor	Ambient light sensor
Security	TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise 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.
In the box	Surface Laptop SE Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Laptop Go 39W 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	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