PC World - USA (2020-11)

54 PCWorld NOVEMBER 2020

REVIEWS MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP GO

using a different paint on top

of the plastic resin of the

keyboard, which gives it a

different feel. (More on that

in a bit.) The Laptop Go

reclines to about the same

angle as the other Surface

Laptops, or a comfortable 50

degrees off of the horizontal.

At 2.45 pounds, it feels light

and comfortable in the hand.

The Surface Laptop Go

isn’t afraid to spin up its fan,

which is noticeable though

not annoying, even in a quiet

room. Other Surface Laptops

pulled air in and then pushed

it out through a hidden

exhaust port in the hinge.

Microsoft’s tweaked that, so

that both the intake and the

exhaust are hidden inside

the hinge. I favor a brutal

approach—who cares what

the bottom of a laptop looks

like?—but perhaps Microsoft

was worried about crumbs

or dust. The Laptop Go doesn’t get hot, but it

does stay warm for long periods.

One flaw Microsoft may want to take a

look at: Microsoft uses a new, 39W charger

for the Surface Laptop Go, which charges the

laptop via the Surface Connector, as before.

On my review unit, the connection was never

loose, and there didn’t seem to be any

schmutz inside the Surface Connector slot.

However, the charger sometimes, even

frequently, wouldn’t charge unless carefully

inserted. (Fortunately there’s a charging LED

on the connector itself to let you know

something’s up.)

The Surface Laptop Go holds no surprises in terms of port layout:

there’s a Surface Connector port on tie right side of the laptop...

...and on the left, there’s a USB-A port, a USB-C port, and the

headphone jack.