At the Surface event last night, Microsoft refreshed a couple of their Surface products, and the Microsoft Surface Go 4 is one of them. From the outside, the design is unchanged compared to the Surface Go 3, but it did get a specs bump and better repairability thanks to it being offered mainly to business owners.
The Surface Go 4 still features a bright, 10.5-inch PixelSense display with a 10.5 inches with 1920 x 1280 pixels panel. The display has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 over it for protection and the screen-to-body ratio for the Surface Go 4 is unchanged at 76.5%.
Microsoft updated the processor for the Surface Go 4 – from a choice of Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y or Intel Core i3-10100Y, to a single choice of Intel Processor N200. The new processor is part of the group of processors using the code name Alder Lake-N. So, expect decent enough productivity while using the Surface Go 4 with this new processor.
You also only get a single RAM option – 8GB. For storage, you can choose between 64, 128 or 256GB. Microsoft claims that you can get up to 12.5 hours of battery life from a single charge.
Because the 2-in-1 is now targeted to enterprise customers, Microsoft listed some business-oriented specs in the specs sheet. This includes hardware TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise-grade security and BitLocker support, enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in and Windows 11 Secured-core PC.
A big change of the Surface Go 4 versus the older model is repairability. The display, battery, kickstand, and motherboard are all now replaceable by IT departments, without the need to send it for replacement.
Pen support is still present with the Surface Go 4, but unfortunately, there is no LTE model on offer this year from Microsoft. There are three cameras on board – a 1080p Full HD front-facing camera for video calls, a Windows Hello face authentication camera, as well as a rear-facing 8 MP 1080p Full HD camera.
Surface Go 4 is one of the few Windows 11 PCs that qualifies for Microsoft 365 for frontline, a fairly new subscription package for frontline, shift, and part-time workers by Microsoft. It is aimed at hybrid workforces that perform shift and frontline work as one license can be shared by up to three workers.
Microsoft has yet to announce the pricing and availability of the Surface Go 4, but with the shift to a business focus, end users may not be able to get their hands on the 2-in-1 as easily as before.
