Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 will go on sale from October 3 at $800

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Yesterday, Microsoft held its annual event, announcing the Surface Laptop Go 3, the latest iteration of its budget-friendly laptop. Unfortunately, this year, the laptop isn’t budget-friendly anymore. 

The new version, the Surface Laptop 3, features a few necessary upgrades. But the starting price is also relatively high, so Microsoft should have also considered tweaking the design a bit.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 spec sheet

	Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3
Display	12.4-inch PixelSense, 1536×1024 resolution, 3:2 aspect ratio, 60Hz refresh rate, 320 nits with touch support
CPU	12th-generation Intel Core i5-1235U (10 cores, 12 threads, 12MB cache)
Graphics	Intel Iris Xe graphics (integrated)
RAM	8GB/16GB LPDDR5
Storage	256GB SSD
Webcam	HD 720p webcam
Battery	Up to 15 hours with typical usage
Size/ Weight	10.95 x 8.12 x 0.62 inches (278 x 206 x 15.7 mm)/2.49 pounds (1.13kg)
Color	Platinum, Ice Blue, Sage, Sandstone
Price	Starts at $799.99

The new Surface Laptop Go 3 has received small tweaks in terms of the design, but under the hood, it packs a punch with notable improvements. 

The biggest improvement is the processor. The Surface Laptop Go 3 comes with a faster processor. The laptop is using Intel’s 12th-generation processors with hybrid architecture.

The Laptop 3 features the Intel Core i5-1235U with 10 cores and 12 threads, while the previous generation only had four cores and eight threads – It’s a significant upgrade.

This time around, the Surface Laptop 3 also features more RAM and internal storage, especially the base model. In the older generation, the base model only featured 4GB RAM and 128GB storage, and that configuration no longer exists. 

This year, the base model offers 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage by default, and the storage options also use UFS technology rather than a typical SSD.

That’s all on the hardware front. Also, the new model has the same display, webcam, and design as the previous generation. Unfortunately, there’s still no Windows Hello support on the base model, but comes with the $1,000 variant.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 Price and availability 

Processor	Storage	RAM	Price
12th-gen Intel Core i5	256GB SSD	8GB	$799.99
12th-gen Intel Core i5	256GB SSD	16GB	$999.99

Microsoft announced the Surface Laptop Go 3 on September 21st, 2023. The laptop is already available for pre-orders, while the general availability starts on October 3rd. 

However, Microsoft’s new lightweight laptop comes with a higher price tag than its predecessor, starting at $799. But this time, the base model fares better than the previous generation. Only two configurations are available at launch.

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