Surface Go 3, any last advices before buying?

[Mikael Andersson]

So i have decided to buy the latest Surface Go 3. The one is choose for my money is the 8GB / 128 SSD model
Since i live in Sweden, the price will be 733$ with the TypeCover included.

My main areas for use will be Microsoft 365, Excel documents, Youtube, Windows Central forums :smile: and HBO.
Most of my work is saved in the cloud with Onedrive, as for my documents and stuff.

I just have a few questions that i need to have answered before i press the "order" button:

x For those of you that have the Go 3; are you satisfied with it? Downsides and upsides?

x How is battery life? Will the Go 3 last for a day of use without charging it?

x What is S-mode, and is that coming with the Go 3?

x What ports and connections are there on the Go 3?

x What accessories besides the TypeCover is available, like mouses and headphones?

Hoping to get these questions answered before i press the "order" button during the end of next week :sweaty:

Thanks in advance :smile:

 

[HeyCori]

I don't know what models are available in Sweden, but in the U.S. there's both an i3 and Pentium version with 8GB/128GB. Are you getting the Pentium or i3 version? I ask because I have a Surface Go 2 with the m3 processor which is only slightly less powerful than the i3 version of the Go 3. I imagine many of my answers are still relevant to the i3 version of the Go 3.

x For those of you that have the Go 3; are you satisfied with it? Downsides and upsides?
I've been pleasantly surprised with my Go 2. I have a Lenovo Legion with an i5/2060 graphics card and my Go has replaced it as my daily driver. At home, I dock my Go to a 1440p monitor. And at work, it's portability has been a major bonus. Especially since my Legion is maddening heavy and sucks to carry around. Plus, I like that my Go can switch between a laptop via the keyboard and a true tablet by removing it (and not a 2-in-1 which I find slightly annoying when flipped because of the exposed keyboard). Common things I do on my Go includes Office, Affinity Photo, TeamViewer/RDP, Edge and Chrome, and (IMO) the best file management on any OS. As for downsides, see below.


x How is battery life? Will the Go 3 last for a day of use without charging it?
Battery life on the Go 2 is between 5-7 hours depending on how you use it. Unfortunately, not much has changed for the Go 3. Personally, I have no problems making it through a full work day. However, I use it sporadically at work. I use it a few minutes at a time, usually to quickly look something up, fill out a document, or write an email. And even then I'm using battery mode at 40% brightness. To me that's fair because I bought it to be portable, not as a replacement desktop/laptop.


x What is S-mode, and is that coming with the Go 3?
The Go 3 does ship in S-mode. All S-mode does is limit app installation to the Windows store. Canceling S-mode is free and only takes a few minutes. Leaving S-mode will allow you to install any Windows app. I don't know many people that stay in S-mode.


x What ports and connections are there on the Go 3?
You get a headphone jack, USB-C port (not thunderbolt), Surface connect port, and microSD slot.


x What accessories besides the TypeCover is available, like mouses and headphones?
There aren't many Go specific accessories, at least none that are coming to mind. There's the Surface Pen (a great choice if it's in the budget), and third party versions of the pen and type cover. I'd also recommend a USB-C adapter to add additional USB type A ports. Otherwise, the Go functions much like any Windows device so almost any type of mouse/headphone/keyboard will work.

 

[Mikael Andersson]

I don't know what models are available in Sweden, but in the U.S. there's both an i3 and Pentium version with 8GB/128GB. Are you getting the Pentium or i3 version? I ask because I have a Surface Go 2 with the m3 processor which is only slightly less powerful than the i3 version of the Go 3. I imagine many of my answers are still relevant to the i3 version of the Go 3.

x For those of you that have the Go 3; are you satisfied with it? Downsides and upsides?
I've been pleasantly surprised with my Go 2. I have a Lenovo Legion with an i5/2060 graphics card and my Go has replaced it as my daily driver. At home, I dock my Go to a 1440p monitor. And at work, it's portability has been a major bonus. Especially since my Legion is maddening heavy and sucks to carry around. Plus, I like that my Go can switch between a laptop via the keyboard and a true tablet by removing it (and not a 2-in-1 which I find slightly annoying when flipped because of the exposed keyboard). Common things I do on my Go includes Office, Affinity Photo, TeamViewer/RDP, Edge and Chrome, and (IMO) the best file management on any OS. As for downsides, see below.


x How is battery life? Will the Go 3 last for a day of use without charging it?
Battery life on the Go 2 is between 5-7 hours depending on how you use it. Unfortunately, not much has changed for the Go 3. Personally, I have no problems making it through a full work day. However, I use it sporadically at work. I use it a few minutes at a time, usually to quickly look something up, fill out a document, or write an email. And even then I'm using battery mode at 40% brightness. To me that's fair because I bought it to be portable, not as a replacement desktop/laptop.


x What is S-mode, and is that coming with the Go 3?
The Go 3 does ship in S-mode. All S-mode does is limit app installation to the Windows store. Canceling S-mode is free and only takes a few minutes. Leaving S-mode will allow you to install any Windows app. I don't know many people that stay in S-mode.


x What ports and connections are there on the Go 3?
You get a headphone jack, USB-C port (not thunderbolt), Surface connect port, and microSD slot.


x What accessories besides the TypeCover is available, like mouses and headphones?
There aren't many Go specific accessories, at least none that are coming to mind. There's the Surface Pen (a great choice if it's in the budget), and third party versions of the pen and type cover. I'd also recommend a USB-C adapter to add additional USB type A ports. Otherwise, the Go functions much like any Windows device so almost any type of mouse/headphone/keyboard will work.

hello and thanks for a long and good answer. This will bring me closer to my purchase of the Go 3.

In Sweden, there is both the 4GB / 64GB version, and the 8GB / 128GB version. Both with the Pentium Gold cpu.
Personally, i will go for the 8GB / 128GB version, as i usually have 7-8 tabs open in Edge, Teams open, and then Excel with a big spreadcheet.