Surface Go vs. Surface 2: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between Surface Go and Surface 2 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Surface Go Pros

Reasons that Surface Go is better than Surface 2.

Much newer manufacturing

2018 vs. 2013

Supports larger memory

Surface Go supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface 2. It supports up to 8GB versus 2GB of system memory on the Surface 2.

Max system memory size
Surface Go
8 GB
Surface 2
2 GB

Surface 2 Pros

Reasons that Surface 2 is better than Surface Go.

6% larger display

Surface 2 has a 10.6-inch screen size 6% larger than the 10-inch Surface Go.

Display size
Surface 2
10.6-inch
Surface Go
10-inch

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

Surface Go Price
New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 4GB Memory - 64GB - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model)
New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 4GB Memory - 64GB - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$285.03
Microsoft Surface Go (Intel Pentium Gold, 8GB RAM, 128GB) (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Go (Intel Pentium Gold, 8GB RAM, 128GB) (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$197.99
Microsoft Surface Go 2-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum (Latest Model) (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Go 2-10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - WiFi - Platinum (Latest Model) (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$256.09
$269.00 5% OFF
Surface 2 Price
New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 4GB Memory - 64GB - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model)
New Microsoft Surface Go 2 - 10.5" Touch-Screen - Intel Pentium - 4GB Memory - 64GB - Wifi - Platinum (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$285.03
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - Platinum (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - Platinum (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$249.00
$304.99 18% OFF
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 (2023) - 14.4" Touchscreen - Intel Core i7, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060, Windows 11, Platinum Color Copilot
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2 (2023) - 14.4" Touchscreen - Intel Core i7, 64GB RAM, 2TB SSD, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060, Windows 11, Platinum Color Copilot
By Microsoft
$3,169.99
$3,699.99 14% OFF

Availability

Surface GoSurface 2
Released20182013
Release Date
  • Introduced: July 10, 2018
  • Pre-ordered: July 10, 2018
  • Released: August 2, 2018
  • Introduced: September 23, 2013
  • Pre-ordered: September 24, 2013
  • Released: October 22, 2013
PricingSurface 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
Surface 2 Wi-Fi
  • $449 - 2 GB | 32 GB
  • $549 - 2 GB | 64 GB
Surface 2 4G LTE
  • $679 - 2 GB | 64 GB
Generations

Exterior

Surface GoSurface 2
Dimensions9.6” 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)
10.81” x 6.79” x 0.35” (275 mm x 172 mm x 8.9 mm)
Width: 10.81” (275 mm)
Height: 6.79” (172 mm)
Thickness: 0.35” (8.9 mm)
Weight
  • Surface Go: 1.15 lbs (522 g)
  • Surface Go with LTE: 1.17 lbs. (532 g)
  • Surface Go Keyboard: 0.55 lbs (249 g)
  • Surface 2: 1.15 lbs (522 g)
  • Surface 2 with Keyboard: 1.7 lbs (771 g)
Colors
Platinum
Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • 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.
  • Surface Type Cover
    • Not included
  • Keyboard:
    • Activation: Moving (mechanical) keys.
    • Layout: QWERTY, full row of function keys (F1-F12).
    • 4 directional keys; Windows and Media Controls Keys.
    • LED backlighting.
  • Trackpad:
    • Two-finger multitouch gesture trackpad.

Display

Surface GoSurface 2
Size10 Inches10.6 Inches
Info
  • 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
  • Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (2M Pixels)
  • Density: 208 PPI
  • Aspect ratio: 16:9
  • ClearType Full HD Display
  • Touch: 5 points multi-touch

Ports

Surface GoSurface 2
Surface Go Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
  • 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
  • 1 x Full-size USB 3.0
  • 1 x microSD™ card reader
  • 1 x Surface Charging Port
  • 1 x Headset jack
  • 1 x Mini DisplayPort
  • 1 x Cover port
  • 1 x Nano SIM card slot (Surface 2 with LTE only)

Internal Specs

Surface GoSurface 2
Processor
  1. 7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4415Y
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.60 GHz, 2MB SmartCache, 6W
  1. NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40
    4 cores, 1.70 → 1.90 GHz, 2MB Cache,
Integrated Graphics
  1. 7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4415Y
    Intel® HD Graphics 615
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 850 MHz
  1. NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40
    NVIDIA GeForce ULP graphics
    72 Graphics Cores, 672 MHz
Memory
4GB 8GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
2GB of RAM
Storage
  • 64GB
    eMMC
  • 128GB 256GB
    SSD
  • 32GB 64GB
    eMMC

Connectivity

Surface GoSurface 2
Wi-Fi
  • Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
  • Wi-Fi 4: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n compatible.
Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology
  • Bluetooth 4.0 low energy technology
MoreOptional 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
Optional LTE
  • Nano SIM Tray
  • 2G GSM (Quadband: 850/900/1800/1900)
  • 3G UMTS (Bands 1, 2, 5)
  • 4G LTE (Bands 4, 7, 17)

Battery

Surface GoSurface 2
Size26.12 Wh31.5 Wh
Battery LifeUp to 9 hours of video playbackUp to 10 hours of video playback
Power Supply
  • 24W proprietary Surface Connect power supply
  • 24W proprietary power supply

Software

Surface GoSurface 2
OS
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 in S-mode
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro
  • Windows RT 8.1
Built-in AppsMicrosoft Office 365 30-days trialMicrosoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT with Outlook

Camera & Audio

Surface GoSurface 2
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
  • 3.5MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video
  • 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video
Audio
  • Single microphone
  • 2W Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium
  • Dual microphones
  • Stereo speakers with digitally enhanced for fuller sound

Misc

Surface GoSurface 2
InkingSupports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
magnetic storage
-
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetometer
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetometer
Security
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
-
In the box
  • Surface Go
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
  • Surface 2
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
Warranty
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
More
  • 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
  • Kickstand: 2 positions
  • Physical buttons: volumes, power

Key Features

Surface GoSurface 2
At Glance
Released in Mid
2018
3:2 1.8K
10”
1200p 60Hz
Weight
1.15 lb
0.52 kg
Powered By
Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y
2C/4T, 1.60 GHz
Geekbench 5
356
Single Core
Geekbench 5
855
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® HD Graphics 615
24 Execution Units, 300 → 850 MHz
Configurable up to
8GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3
Surface Go Ports
Released in Late
2013
16:9 FHD
10.6”
1080p 60Hz
Weight
1.15 lb
0.52 kg
Powered By
NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40
4C/1.70 → 1.90 GHz
With integrated
NVIDIA GeForce ULP graphics
72 Graphics Cores, 672 MHz
2GB
DDR3L Memory

Comparison Summary

Surface Go vs. Surface 2

Microsoft has released the Surface Go, a 10-inch machine, in mid-2018. It is powered by a dual-core Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y. The laptop has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® HD Graphics 615 (24 Execution Units, 300 → 850 MHz).

On the other hand, we have the 10.6-inch Surface 2 was introduced by Microsoft about five years earlier in late-2013. It comes with a quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 4 T40 with a boost clock speed up to 1.90 GHz. It has an integrated graphics option up to NVIDIA GeForce ULP graphics (72 Graphics Cores, 672 MHz).

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Surface Go1
7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4415Y356100.00%
Surface 20356

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Surface Go1
7th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 4415Y855100.00%
Surface 20855

The Surface Go has a 10-inch display which is slightly smaller than the 10.6-inch Surface 2. In addition, they both have the same weight at 1.15 lbs. Moreover, measured at 9.6” x 6.9” x 0.33”, the Surface Go is slightly more portable than the Surface 2 at 10.81” x 6.79” x 0.35”.

Surface GoSurface 2

Moving over to upgradability, you can't make any upgrades on both devices. All major components including memory and storage are soldered on to the motherboard. So make sure you get the specs that work best for your current and future workload.

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