Microsoft’s Surface Go 2 could be announced in May, with hardware specs as previous leaks have indicated, save for one detail – a fresh rumor contends that contrary to spilled product listings we’ve seen, the screen will be larger (albeit only slightly).
The word from Windows Central’s Zac Bowden (a generally reliable source for all things Microsoft) is that the Surface Go 2 will have a 10.5-inch screen, in other words a half-inch bigger than the existing Surface Go. However, the size of the actual chassis of the tablet will remain the same – meaning that the bezels will be slimmer to accommodate the expansion in screen size.
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To keep things sharp, the resolution will also be increased slightly to 1,920 x 1,280-pixels (the original had a 1,800 x 1,200 screen).
This is all according to the usual sources ‘familiar’ with the purported Surface Go sequel, who also claim that the design and the chassis itself will remain the same as the original.
Bowden theorizes that the bezels on the Surface Go will be around the same order of slimness as the Surface Laptop 3.
Processor upgrade
As mentioned, the expectation is that Microsoft will announce the new Surface tablet at some point in May, and hardware specs will be as per previous leaks (although remember that all this must be taken with the appropriate amount of caution, of course).
Those leaks pointed to a choice of two processors, Intel’s Pentium 4425Y and Core m3-8100Y, with an option on LTE, and storage plus memory configurations as you might expect: 4GB or 8GB of system RAM, and storage options running up to 128GB (though a previous rumor indicated 256GB for the latter).
The other good news is on the pricing front, with Bowden claiming that the Surface Go 2 will start at the same price as the original Surface Go, namely $399 (around £320, AU$630) for the most basic version with a Pentium processor. That’s good news because a previous price leak from an Italian retailer had indicated that the Surface Go 2 could be around 25% more expensive – although we had our doubts about that anyway.
So, on an overall level these aren’t major changes for the Surface Go 2, but the first version was already an extremely likeable budget tablet, and with a more powerful CPU plus a slightly larger screen, it’s likely to do enough to remain a tempting proposition.
Note that previous speculation has contended that the Surface Go 2 will actually be on sale in May, and it could still be the case that the product reveal will be followed by the tablet going straight on the shelves (more or less).
Meanwhile, we are also expecting Microsoft to launch a new Surface Book 3 in the near future, again if the word on the grapevine is correct (but there’s a fair old weight of evidence mounting up for both these Surface products).
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