Microsoft Surface Go Launched: A Comparison With the Apple iPad
The smallest product in Microsoft’s Surface family gets priced in India. Should you get this over a laptop?
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The story has been updated with India pricing and available variants.
Microsoft unveiled the latest member of its Surface family, the Surface Go tablet PC. Priced at Rs 38,599, the Surface Go sits at the lower end of the Surface lineup. The Go, which will be available before of this month in India, will compete with the 9.7-inch iPad in the tablet market, which hasn’t seen active competition since the decline of the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
With its magnesium design surface and rounded corners, the Surface Go looks like a smaller version of the Surface Pro.
The screen is surrounded with large bezels that although is a dated aspect, makes holding the device easier.
Apart from Microsoft's traditional Surface charger, this one comes with a USB type C port as well. Surface Go adopts the kickstand from the Surface Pro that the company calls a hinge.
The device looks classy and luxurious and the specifications are not low-end, with two 4GB and 8GB RAM options. With dual core Intel Pentium processor on board, this is something that seems outdated but Microsoft says that it has worked with Intel to develop the processor specifically for this device.
Lets see how Microsoft's attempt to try and get a bigger piece of the overall tablet PC pie fares against the market leader iPad.
Looks
Looks wise, the iPad still retains the trademark Apple design. With the 2018 iPad, Apple took over the same design from the previous iPad. Even the weight remains unchanged from the last version.
The Surface Go also does not offer anything we haven't seen before. It also looks almost identical to the larger Surface Pro, but the design is outstanding. It looks much more premium than the iPad and with its magnesium design surface and rounded corners. The kickstand further adds to the detail.
Display
The iPad sports a 9.7-inch retina display with IPS technology. It has a 2,048 x 1,536 pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch. The display also uses an anti-fingerprint coating and supports Apple Pencil.
The Surface Pro, on the other hand uses a 10-inch 1,800 x 1,200 pixel resolution display with a 3:2 aspect ratio and Microsoft's patented PixelSense technology. This one also supports the Microsoft Pen.
Specifications
The latest 9.7-inch iPad grabbed eyeballs with its Apple Pencil support, which was earlier only limited to the iPad Pro.
The iPad uses an 8-megapixel camera with an f/2.4 aperture and a 1.2 megapixel front camera. Battery life? Apple claims a 10-hour backup. The iPad is 7.5 millimetres thick and weighs just barely over a pound.
The Surface's small design is not the only thing it boasts of. With two RAM options - 4GB and 8GB - it targets different types of buyers. The two RAM options are paired with a Dual Core Intel Pentium 4415Y processor and two storage options of 64GB and 128GB. The processor on this one, according to Microsoft, preserves battery life as compared to traditional Intel processors.
Where it lags behind the iPad is that it doesn't have a camera on the back, but makes up for it with the USB Type C, microSD card slot and the 3.5mm headphone jack. The Surface Go weighs 1.15lbs, which is a little heavier than the iPad and about half a pound lighter than the Surface Pro.
Also, worth pointing out that both the variants of the Surface Go in India will be Wi-Fi only and the LTE model might launch at a later date.
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