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As expected, Microsoft’s new Surface Go 4 is a compact tablet that should bring a big speed boost over the Surface Go 3, thanks to Intel N200 Alder Lake-N processor, which Microsoft says delivers up to 80% faster performance than the Pentium Gold 6500Y and Core i3-10100Y chips used in that model.
That’s the good news. The bad news? Microsoft has introduced the Surface Go 4 for Business, but the company hasn’t announced any plans to sell the tablet directly to consumers yet. Update: While it’s officially designed for business, anyone can buy the tablet from the Microsoft Store for $580 and up.
Like all Surface tablets, the Surface Go 4 is positioned as a 2-in-1 device, with support for an optional Surface Go Type Cover or Signature Type Cover with an integrated keyboard as well as support for a Surface Pen, Classroom Pen, Business Pen, or other digital pens that support the Microsoft Pen Protocol 2.0.
The tablet has a built-in kickstand that can be adjusted at angles up to 165 degrees, and a magnesium chassis that only comes in a single color (so far): platinum.
Positioned for business and education usage, the tablet ships with Windows 11 Pro or Windows 10 Pro and comes with a 24W power supply. Microsoft says users should get “up to” 12.5 hours of battery life, but it’s probably best to take that claim with a grain of salt if you’re doing anything more demanding than playing videos.
Here’s how the new tablet stacks up against its predecessor:
| Surface Go 4 for Business | Surface Go 3 | |
| Display | 10.5 inches PixelSense 1920 x 1280 pixels 220 ppi 3:2 aspect ratio 10-point multitouch Gorilla Glass 3 | |
| Processor | Intel N200 4-cores / 4-threads Up to 3.7 GHz 6W Intel 7 | Intel Core i3-10110Y 2-cores / 4-threads Up to 3.9 GHz 5W 14nm or Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y 2-cores / 4-threads Up to 3.4 GHz 5W 14nm |
| Graphics | Intel UHD (32 eu, up to 750 MHz) | Intel UHD 615 (24 eu, 300MHz – 1 GHz) Intel UHD 615 (23 eu, 300 MHz – 900 MHz) |
| RAM | 8GB LPDDR5 | 4GB or 8GB LPDDR3 |
| Storage | 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB UFS | 64GB eMMC or 128GB SSD 256GB SSD (LTE model) |
| Ports | 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C 1 x 3.5mm audio 1 x microSDXC card reader 1 x Surface Type Cover port 1 x Surface Connect port | |
| Wireless | WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.1 NFC | WiFi 6 Bluetooth 5.0 NFC 4G LTE (optional) |
| Sensors | Ambient Light Accelerometer Gyroscrope Magnetometer | |
| Cameras | 8MP (1080p) rear 1080p / IR front | 8MP (1080p) rear 5MP (1080p) IR front |
| Audio | 2W stereo speakers 2 x far-field Studio Mics | |
| Dimensions | 245 x 175 x 8.3mm 9.7″ x 6.9″ x 0.3″ | |
| Weight | 521 grams 1.15 pounds | 544 grams 1.2 pounds |
Interestingly, Microsoft isn’t showing a 4G LTE or 5G option for the new tablet, but it’s possible that we could see some sort of cellular option added in the future.
Prices for the Surface Go 4 for Business are expected to start at $579 for a model with 8GB of RAM and 64GB of storage (for business customers)
It is microsoft and they still cant compete with a mediocre android tablet?
Hopefully 4G/5G isn’t restricted to the ARM version (unless it’s been canceled) and regular people can buy single units.
I plan on finally upgrading my Surface Go 1 LTE.
I remember getting a “business” version of a Surface Go directly from Microsoft. It was with LTE and higher storage. I think it was the storage that was locked behind the business version.
I wonder if regular people can get this too if there really is no consumer version or it’s only sold directly to businesses.