On the other hand, if you’re on the strictest of budgets and have no room left over to spend money on a keyboard cover, that’s OK. It is possible to perform basic tasks on the Go 3 without the keyboard or touchpad. In fact, I spent all of my time testing the Go 3 without using the Ice Blue Type Cover that Microsoft sent along with our review unit, just to see if I could rely entirely on the touch screen. I certainly wouldn’t use the Go 3 in tablet mode as my main PC, but especially for watching videos and even dragging files between folders, a keyboard and touchpad aren’t necessary. The changes to the Microsoft store are welcome, too, with apps from more developers now available, such as Disney+, making it the central place to get programs from and keep them updated automatically. Price The Surface Go has been slowly trudging towards adequacy when it comes to battery life over the years. The first generation model lasted 6hrs 23mins in our video rundown test, the Go 2 managed 7hrs 17mins and the Go 3 improves that yet again to 9hrs 31mins. That’s not too bad considering the battery is only a little larger than the Go 2’s (28Wh versus 27Wh). For comparison, the 2021 iPad kept running for 13hrs 11mins. Microsoft’s smallest tablet PC gets Windows 11, newer chips and a small price cut but really needed more to make it worth the investment. The fact is that the processors Microsoft is using in the Go 3 machines are simply not powerful enough to give an even remotely satisfying user experience beyond basic computing activities.

Surface Go Type Cover – Microsoft Surface

Inside, the Go 3 has been upgraded. You have a choice of an Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y, which is much faster on paper than its predecessor, or a 10-generation Core i3 processor, which is about the same. Both are very much at the lower end of the market, based on older technology.If the LED lights don't turn on, there might be a hardware issue. To verify in UEFI, do the following: READ NEXT: Asus Zenbook Fold 17 OLED review Microsoft Surface Go 3 review: Performance and battery life The redesigned Start menu squeezes more icons into a smaller space, so it is a better fit for the 10.5in screen of the Go 3. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian These are the best keyboard options you can find for the Surface Go 3. Depending on what you value most, each one has its own worth. The official Surface Go Type Cover is the best if you want a reliable connection since it's the only one to use the proprietary Surface keyboard connector instead of Bluetooth. On the other hand, something like the Brydge 10.5 Go+ is very cool because it truly makes the Surface Go 3 feel like a real laptop. And, for office setups, something like the Logitech MX Mechanical is really where it's at. Mechanical keyboards are fantastic, and since this one has such a clean design, it's great for work.

Microsoft Surface Go2 or Go3 - Type Cover - Black keyboard

Somewhat discouragingly, these and other similarly priced devices are likely to offer a smoother experience than the Go 3 does on everything but the simplest tasks. I found there to be occasional lag and sluggishness while installing apps, as well as when opening and closing menus. And sluggishness occurs with more frequency when switching between two apps that are already running. It’s a similar experience to what we found when testing the Go 2 last year, except that the lag behavior is less excusable now considering the Go 3 has an upgraded CPU and runs Windows 11. According to the Microsoft support document, all Surface devices with a MicroSDXC card slot, including Surface Go, only support UHS-I cards. But it is hindered by slow chips with inconsistent, laggy performance and a poor battery life. The competition has moved on significantly since the original Go and Go 2 launched but Microsoft has not kept up. Note: If you don't see a Devices menu, then your device does not provide this functionality and is working as expected. Not all devices have this option on the UEFI screen.Despite all of Microsoft’s efforts, and some quite nice hardware along the way, its Surface products haven’t made the impact on the tablet market it would have liked. Before we get into the meat of things, a word needs to be said about Windows 11. Microsoft has been beating a retreat from Windows as a touch-optimised OS for a while. With Windows 8, touch was to the fore. In Windows 10 it was an option. In Windows 11 the old “Metro” tile interface has finally been killed off. That leaves the Go 3 with an interface that is frankly only a little more touch-optimised than Windows 8 and nowhere near as finger-friendly as iOS or Android. There are some solutions you can try. First steps if your Surface Type Cover or Keyboard doesn't work The Surface Go 3 looks nice, feels great and has a lot of potential as a mini tablet that offers a full Windows 11 PC experience. Considering the laggardly system performance, the SSD speed is almost irrelevant. That’s actually just as well, since the drive in the Go 3 could only reach sequential read and write speeds of 1,259MB/sec and 319MB/sec respectively; those are pretty awful results.

Microsoft Surface Go 3 review: A gutless wonder - Expert Reviews Microsoft Surface Go 3 review: A gutless wonder - Expert Reviews

More Powerful Processors - The Surface Go 3 now features the latest 10th generation Intel Mobile processors, including Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0, resulting in faster speeds up to 3.40 GHz, particularly on the entry-level models. As for gaming, forget it. Our least demanding gaming test, Dirt Showdown running at 1,280 x 720, returned an average frame rate of just 28fps, and the GFXBench benchmark results were equally disappointing, returning an average score of only 18fps in the Car Chase scene at native resolution.Note: This process reinstalls Windows but keeps your personal files and any apps that came with your PC. It removes changes you made to settings, as well as apps and drivers you installed. Pressing the fingerprint reader at the Windows sign-in screen has no response and appears not to be recognized. If the LED lights turn on, your problem may be with Windows and not the device itself. The next step is to reset your Surface. Here's how: Select Start > Power > Shut down and wait a moment for your Surface to shut down. Then press and hold the power button for 20 seconds. If you see the logo screen appear after a few seconds, continue to hold for the full 20 seconds until you see the logo screen again. Above the screen, housed in one of the long bezels surrounding the Go 3’s display, you’ll find an above-average webcam. This 5-megapixel, 1080p shooter is an improvement over most laptop webcams, which typically employ low-quality sensors with 720p resolution that result in grainy video quality even when the room is brightly lit. In addition to the front-facing camera, which includes IR sensors for face-recognition Windows Hello logins, the Go 3 has a rear-mounted 8-megapixel autofocus camera that also shoots 1080p video.

Best keyboards for the Surface Go 3 in 2023 - XDA Developers

The benchmark results tell the same sorry story. Our in-house media benchmark app produced a wretched score of just 24. That’s compared to 32 scored by the Core m3-8100Y version of the Go 2 we tested last year, which was itself a dismal showing. The Geekbench 5 CPU scores of 839 (single-core) and 1,572 (multi-core) were equally poor. Why you can trust Windows Central Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test. Make sure the language you're using on your Keyboard (the Keyboard’s layout language) matches the one you're using on your PC (the display language). For best typing results, the Keyboard and display language should match. The Go 3, therefore, only makes sense if you simply must have a small Windows 11 tablet and are prepared to pay over the odds for it.You really do need a good keyboard if you want to maximize the value of your Surface Go or Surface Go 2. But you don't have to pay Microsoft's prices, which, frankly, are a little crazy. You'll see the logo screen on your screen. Continue to hold the Volume Up button. Release the button when the UEFI screen appears.