Surface Go 3 specs, features, and analysis

Here's what you need to know about 2021 Surface Go 3 including price, display info, CPU, RAM, storage, battery, and more.

Availability

Surface Go 3
Released2021
Release Date
  • Introduced: September 22, 2021
  • Pre-ordered: September 22, 2021
  • Released: October 5, 2021
Pricing
  • $399 
    Gold 6500Y 4 GB 64 GB WiFi
  • $549
    Gold 6500Y 8 GB 128 GB WiFi
  • $629
    i3-10100Y 8 GB 128 GB WiFi
Generations
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5” Price
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$488.00
$629.99 23% OFF
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 4GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 4GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$382.00
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Black (Latest Model)
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Black (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$500.00
$629.99 21% OFF
Microsoft Surface Go 3 4G LTE Tablet 10.5-inch Touchscreen Intel Core i3 i3-10100Y 8GB RAM 256GB SSD Windows 11 Pro (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Go 3 4G LTE Tablet 10.5-inch Touchscreen Intel Core i3 i3-10100Y 8GB RAM 256GB SSD Windows 11 Pro (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$609.99
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Black (Latest Model)
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Black (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$578.18

Exterior

Surface Go 3
Dimensions9.65” x 6.9” x 0.33” (245 mm x 175  mm x 8.3 mm)
Width: 9.65” (245 mm)
Height: 6.9” (175 mm)
Thickness: 0.33” (8.3 mm)
Weight
  • Surface Go 3: 1.2 lbs (544 g)
  • Surface Go 3 Keyboard: 0.55 lbs (249 g)
Colors
Platinum
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Surface Go 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 Go 3 Keyboard and Touchpad
Image Source: Microsoft

Display

Surface Go 3
Size10.5 Inches
Info
  • Resolution: 1920 x 1280 (2.45M Pixels)
  • Density: 220 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

Ports

Surface Go 3
Ports
Surface Go 3 Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
Right (3)
  • 1 x USB-C
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), DisplayPort, Power Delivery
  • 1 x Surface Connect
    Charging, Docking
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
Bottom (1)
  • 1 x Surface Go Type Cover Connector
Under Kickstand (1)
  • 1 x microSD card slot

Internal Specs

Surface Go 3
Processor
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.10 → 3.40 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 5W
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 5W

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Surface Go 31
10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y77897.37%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y799100.00%
0799

Geekbench 5 Multi-Core

Surface Go 31
10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y1,51096.18%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y1,570100.00%
01,570
Integrated Graphics
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y
    Intel® UHD Graphics 615
    23 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y
    Intel® UHD Graphics 615
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz
Memory
4GB 8GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage
  • 64GB
    eMMC
  • 128GB
    SSD

Connectivity

Surface Go 3
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
BluetoothBluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
MoreLTE version coming soon.

Battery

Surface Go 3
Size
  • 28Wh 
    Nominal battery capacity.
  • 26.8Wh 
    Minimum battery capacity.
Battery LifeUp to 11 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply24W proprietary Surface Connect power supply

Software

Surface Go 3
OSWindows 11 Home in S-mode
Built-in Apps
  • Xbox Game Pass Ultimate one month trial
  • Microsoft 365 Family one month trial

Camera & Audio

Surface Go 3
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
Audio
  • Enhanced dual far-field Studio Mics
  • 2W stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™

Misc

Surface Go 3
InkingSupports Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP)
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
magnetic storage
Sensors
  • 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 3
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
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

Key Features

Surface Go 3
At Glance
Released in Late
2021
3:2 FHD+
10.5”
1280p 60Hz
Weight
1.2 lb
0.54 kg
Up to
Intel Core i3-10100Y
2C/4T, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz
Geekbench 5
799
Single Core
Geekbench 5
1,570
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 615
24 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz
Configurable up to
8GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3
Surface Go 3 Ports
Starting at
$399
Gold 6500Y, 4GB, 64GB eMMC
Supports
Surface Pen
4096 Levels, Tilt sensing, Magnetic Storage.
Up to
11 Hours
Battery Life
Built-in
IR Camera
For Face Unlock
Optional
4G LTE
Wi-Fi 6

Photos

Our analysis and reviews

Surface Go 3 image

Creadit: Microsoft

What we like

Reasons to like about Surface Go 3.

Supports Windows 11

Surface Go 3 exceed all minimum system requirements for Windows 11.

RequirementsSurface Go 3
Secure BootYes
TPM 2.0 TPM 2.0
ProcessorIntel Pentium Gold 6500Y → Intel Core i3-10100Y
4GB RAM4GB → 8GB
64GB Drive64GB → 256GB
2 Cores CPU2 cores
Responsive touch and digital pen input
Great battery life of up to 11-hours

According to Microsoft, the Surface Go 3 lasts up to 11 hours of battery life.

Up to 11 hours of typical device usage

What we don't like

Reasons not to like about Surface Go 3.

The entry-level model comes with a slow eMMC

All Surface Go 3 with 64GB of storage still uses a slow eMMC (Embedded MultiMediaCard) technology which is significantly slower than the SSD (Solid-State Drive).

Not included Type Cover
Non-upgradable storage

Surface Go 3 has soldered storage, and there are no M.2 slots for expansion. Learn more

Storage SlotsSurface Go 3
M.20 - Onboard
Non-upgradable memory

The memory on Surface Go 3 is soldered to the motherboard, and there is no additional RAM slot for expansion. Since you can't change or add more RAM after you buy, you want to make sure you pick the configuration with the right amount of memory at the initial purchase. Learn more

MemorySurface Go 3
Slots0 - Onboard
TypeLPDDR3
Speed1866 MHz

What's new

Improvements over its predecessor.

New 10th Gen Intel processors

The latest 10th gen Intel Mobile processors make Surface Go 3 even faster, especially the entry-level models that now also support Intel® Turbo Boost technology 2.0 with a boost frequency of up to 3.40 GHz.

Longer Battery Life of up to 11 hours

Surface Go 3 can last up to 11 hours of battery life of typical device usage.

Preloaded with Windows 11
Supports fast charging
Slightly faster CPU performance

Intel Core i3-10100Y inside Surface Go 3 has a 19% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core M3-8100Y inside Surface Go 2.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Surface Go 3 - Intel Core i3-10100Y
1,570
Surface Go 3 - Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y
1,510
Surface Go 2 - Intel Core M3-8100Y
1,313
Surface Go 2 - Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y
922