Microsoft Surface Go2 or Go3 - Type Cover - Charcoal keyboard

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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.

Microsoft Surface Go 3 review: small Windows 11 tablet can’t

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. 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.

Having trouble with your Surface device keyboard, Surface Go Type Cover, Surface Pro Type Cover, or Surface Pro Keyboard? 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.

Surface Go 3 Specs Full Technical Specifications Microsoft Surface Go 3 Specs Full Technical Specifications

Even its cheapest tablet, the Surface Go, has failed to make an impact on Apple’s dominance in this area, so the latest model – the Microsoft Surface Go 3 – has its work cut out. READ NEXT: Asus Zenbook Fold 17 OLED review Microsoft Surface Go 3 review: Performance and battery lifeYou'll see the logo screen on your screen. Continue to hold the Volume Up button. Release the button when the UEFI screen appears. The 5MP webcam is exceptionally good. Images are crisp and colourful, even in low light, and you can record video at 1080p. It’s one of the best cameras I’ve encountered on a laptop and, combined with a highly effective microphone array, makes the Go 3 an ideal tool for videoconferencing. The webcam also supports Windows Hello facial recognition, which makes up for the absence of a fingerprint reader. 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. 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.

Surface Go Type Cover – Microsoft Surface

Much of the interface is more touch-friendly. The Start menu is centrally placed and much more condensed. The touch-screen keyboard is significantly improved and the new three-finger gestures for switching between apps or getting to the desktop are very welcome. While the Surface Go 3 is compatible with digital stylii, it offers neither an integrated holder nor full support for the latest Surface stylus, the Surface Slim Pen 2. So if you’re an aspiring digital artist, we recommend stepping up to the Surface Pro 8 (which offers both of these features) instead. 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.For Windows 10: Go to Settings > Ease of Access > Keyboard (scroll down to the Interaction section.) To adjust the settings, toggle the settings to either on or off, depending on your preferences.