It’s no secret that 2021 has been a big year for Microsoft. Now we wonder if 2022 will be as good as the year before for the company.
Along with the release of a new version of Windows, nearly every product in its growing Surface line has been updated. We also saw a new product in the Surface Laptop Studio, designed to replace the Surface Book in Microsoft’s lineup.
In fact, aside from the Surface Studio desktop, the Surface Laptop Go was the only other computer that didn’t receive an update last year. That was probably to be expected, considering the first-gen model wasn’t released until October 2020.
But it doesn’t look like we’ll be waiting long for a successor. The Laptop Go 2 is expected to be the only new Surface this spring, and it could be a few weeks away. That’s all we know for now.
You might also be interested in reading: 8 years of Microsoft Surface: what has changed?
When will the second generation of Surface Laptop Go be released?
After the Laptop Go 2 was not announced at the Microsoft event in September 2021, we learned that this new generation will not arrive until, probably, September 2022.
That’s all the information we had until February 2022, when sources close to Windows Central’s Zac Bowden said the device would start shipping in the first half of this year. Bowden clarified this in April 2022, suggesting the device will start shipping in June “if plans don’t change”.
The first half of the year is usually reserved for smaller updates, so it would make sense for the Surface Laptop Go 2 to arrive then.
How much will the Surface Laptop Go 2 cost?
There’s no news at this early stage, but the prices of two existing Surface products give us a good idea of how much the second-gen Laptop Go will cost.
One of them is the current model, which starts at $499, but also has options of $650 and $849 if you want to increase RAM and storage capacity.
As the first “Go”-branded device to reach its second generation, the Surface Go 2’s retail price is also an indicator of how the price will go from the original. This device went from a starting price of 379 to 399, which had an effect on the more expensive models.
These modest increases are unlikely to drive potential customers out of the market, but Microsoft will ensure that more expensive configurations come close to the Surface Laptop 4 in terms of cost.
What does this all mean for the price of the Surface Laptop Go 2? It will likely stay more or less the same unless Microsoft rolls out updates like the ones on our wishlist below.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 Specs Rumors
At the moment, there are no concrete rumors about what we can expect from the second generation of the Surface Laptop Go.
The only thing we know for sure is that it will work on Windows 11 right out of the box. Microsoft’s new operating system will be released on October 5, and all new Surface computers should now use it.
Otherwise, the internals are the most likely place we’ll see an upgrade, with the current 10th Gen i5 moving to Intel’s latest Tiger Lake chips or even the upcoming Alder Lake. This would mean the inclusion of the latest and greatest integrated graphics (currently Iris Xe), which would help improve performance.
The Go laptop maxes out at 8GB of RAM, but that’s unlikely to be expanded to 16GB or even 32GB considering the device is aimed at students. For more intensive tasks, Microsoft can steer people towards the Surface laptop lineup, which aren’t currently much more expensive than the Go laptop.
There may be an option for a 512GB or larger SSD, but with Microsoft’s focus on the cloud (especially Microsoft 365), internal storage is less of a priority.
The bezels are already incredibly narrow for a laptop at this price, so we’re unlikely to see any wholesale design changes. The switch to OLED would also come as a big surprise, although it could boost the screen’s 1056×1024 resolution.
At this time, these are just guesses, but we’ll update this section as soon as we know more.
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 Wishlist
Given the lack of concrete rumors, we’ve put together a wishlist of all the things we’d like to see happen to the second-gen Surface Laptop Go. We’re not done analyzing the original, but after spending a few hours with the device, we have some ideas on where Microsoft could improve:
- bigger screen – Laptop Go introduced a new screen size to the Surface family: 12.5 inches. While you’ll get used to this slightly smaller form factor, it can feel a bit cramped at times. We’re not saying Microsoft should do without the 12.5-inch display, but a larger alternative would be welcome.
- more ports – The Laptop Go is one of the few devices to have a USB-A port, but with just another USB-C port and a headphone jack, your options are pretty limited.
- USB-C for charging – The only other port you’ll find on the device is the Surface Connect for charging, which Microsoft has continued to stick to. Changing this port to USB-C would be a big step forward.
- convertible functionality – Might be long, especially since it’s not yet available on the flagship Surface Laptop line, but it would be great to have more flexibility in terms of screen angles. Many devices are able to rotate their screens 180 degrees, which opens up many more possibilities for use. Touch input is already there to make the most of it.
- fingerprint sensor – Surface Laptop Go supports Windows Hello, but it only works for face unlock. Adding a fingerprint scanner to the device would be a welcome alternative.
We’ll be posting our review of the current Surface Laptop Go soon, so keep an eye on the web to see if it can be considered one of the best Microsoft Surface devices you can buy. If it’s really good, it might even make it to our best laptop table.
Original article published in English on our sister site TechAdvisor UK.
Table of Contents
