In October 2020, Microsoft announced the original Surface Laptop Go, an entry-level laptop with a seemingly great price starting at only $550. Four years after the launch, the first-generation Surface Laptop is dead, as today marks the end of its software support.
Microsoft pitched the Surface Laptop Go as a solid laptop for those who cannot afford the more expensive Surface Laptop 3. Indeed, the $550 price looked appealing at first, but the specs were quite appalling. For that money, Microsoft would give you a computer (albeit a well-made one) with a 10th-gen Intel Core i5 processor, 4 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of eMMC storage. Going up to 8 GB of RAM and at least 128 GB SSD required spending an extra $150, which was very close to the Surface Laptop 3 territory with its much better display, materials, and other upgrades.
The Surface Laptop Go was one of the few Surface devices with a fingerprint sensor instead of a Windows Hello-compatible camera. However, the fingerprint sensor was not available in the base model, so getting it required purchasing the $700 configuration or higher.
Neowin praised the Surface Laptop Go for its portable form factor, fast fingerprint sensor, and beautiful design. However, the experience was hindered by poor battery life, low-resolution display, and no backlit keyboard. And pretty much everyone agreed that the base model was a total joke, a decision made only to grant Microsoft bragging rights about having a $550 Surface Laptop.
The Surface Laptop Go had a pretty short lifespan compared to other Surface devices from the same era. It only received four years of active support with regular firmware and driver updates. The Surface Laptop 3, for reference, had a five-year support lifecycle.
As usual, it is worth noting that the end of support only applies to drives and firmware. You can continue using your Surface Laptop Go if it works well. Moreover, it will continue receiving Windows updates, including the recently released Windows 11 24H2 (it is fully compatible with Windows 11). If you are not there yet, check out this guide on how to update right now.
Microsoft replaced the original Surface Laptop Go with the second generation on June 7, 2022. The computer retained its form factor and 4 GB of RAM in the base model, but it ditched the eMMC storage in favor of a normal 128 GB SSD. As a result, the price was increased from $550 to $600 for the entry-level model. The Surface Laptop Go 2 has a six-year lifecycle, and it will be out of support by June 7, 2028.
In case you missed it, earlier this month, the Surface Studio 2 also reached its end of life.
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