In a nutshell: Microsoft's new Surface Laptop Studio 2 may be the most powerful Surface the company has ever built, but the Surface Laptop Go 3 is its lightest and most portable. The new Surface Laptop Go 3 packs a 12.4-inch (1,536 x 1,024 resolution, 148 PPI) PixelSense display with 10-point multi-touch that's protected by Corning's Gorilla Glass 3. Driving the experience is a 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1235U processor alongside up to 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, a 256 GB removable solid-state drive, and Intel Iris Xe Graphics.
Creature comforts include Windows Hello sign-in via a fingerprint power button, a 720p front-facing camera, Omnisonic speakers with Dolby Audio Premium, a USB-C 3.2 port, a USB-A 3.1 port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a Surface Connect port. Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1 come standard, as does Windows 11 Home. Battery life is rated at up to 15 hours, but of course mileage will vary depending on device usage.
The Surface Laptop Go 3 measures 278 mm x 206 mm x 15.7 mm (10.95 in x 8.12 in x 0.62 in) and tips the scale at 1.13 kg (2.49 pounds), making it far more portable than the Laptop Studio 2. Of course, it's far less powerful as well – a fact that is reflected in the price tag.
Microsoft's Surface Laptop Go 3 starts at $799.99 for a model with 8 GB of RAM; if you want to double it to 16 GB, it'll cost you an extra $200. That almost feels criminal considering how cheap memory is right now. A quick check over on Newegg reveals an 8GB stick of DDR5 laptop memory starts around $22, but Microsoft wants $200 for it?
Just to be sure, I reached out to a Microsoft sales rep to confirm that RAM capacity was the only difference between the two models. I was also unable to determine if the memory is user-expandable, meaning it is almost certainly soldered onto the motherboard so you're stuck with whatever you order.
Available color options include sage, platinum, ice blue, or sandstone, and all models come backed by a 1-year limited hardware warranty. Look for it to launch on October 2.