Surface Go is reportedly discontinued, no Snapdragon model planned

Microsoft has reportedly stopped manufacturing Surface Go and Surface Laptop Go systems. According to Windows Central, the Surface Go 4 and Surface Laptop Go 3 are now out of stock in most regions, and Microsoft has no plans to restock them or launch direct successors.

This means Microsoft’s budget Surface portfolio is effectively gone. The company’s current Surface website now focuses on Surface Pro and Surface Laptop systems, with 12-inch and 13-inch Surface Pro models, and 13-inch, 13.8-inch, and 15-inch Surface Laptop models. A Surface Laptop Ultra is also listed as a pre-release product.

It looks like Microsoft’s popular Surface Go and less popular Surface Laptop Go are on the chopping block. According to my sources that are familiar with Microsoft’s hardware roadmap, these devices are no longer being manufactured, and no successors are currently planned

— Zac Bowden, Windows Central

Microsoft cuts affordable laptops at worst possible time

Windows Central reports that Microsoft had considered a Surface Go 5 with a low-end Snapdragon chip, but the plan was dropped after enterprise customers showed limited interest in an Arm-based model. This is worth noting, since Surface Go 4 was sold only as a commercial device and was still considered useful for enterprise deployments. For Microsoft, everyone seems to be important except actual consumers, I guess.

Surface with 8GB memory

The end of Microsoft’s cheapest Surface PCs comes at a strange time. Microsoft has recently added cheaper 8GB RAM versions of the 12-inch Surface Pro and 13-inch Surface Laptop, but those still start at $849 and $949 in the US. Surface Go originally launched at $399 in 2018, although later models moved higher as the hardware improved.

Dell XPS 13 gets the budget role, but mostly in the US

At the same time, Microsoft is now pointing users toward partner hardware. The company promoted Dell’s new XPS 13 as an alternative to Apple’s MacBook Neo, highlighting Windows Hello facial login, a touchscreen and a backlit keyboard. Those are fair points, but the price comparison works mainly in the US.

As we covered earlier , Dell’s new XPS 13 starts at $699 in the US, or $599 for students. That base model uses Intel’s Core 5 320 processor, 8GB LPDDR5X memory and a 512GB SSD. Dell also lists a 13.4-inch 2560×1600 touchscreen with 120Hz variable refresh rate, Wi-Fi 7 and a 1kg chassis.

Outside the US, the same product is not as cheap. Dell Germany lists the XPS 13 with Core 5 320, 8GB LPDDR5X memory and a 512GB SSD at €1,049. This makes Microsoft’s comparison much less useful for European buyers, where Dell’s entry-level XPS 13 is no longer close to the MacBook Neo’s lower pricing.

Microsoft now appears to be leaving the lower-cost Surface segment behind. The company still has cheaper Surface configurations than before, but they are no longer true Surface Go replacements. For users who want a small Windows tablet or laptop at a lower price, Microsoft’s current answer seems to be a third-party Windows PC.

The promotion of XPS laptops reminds me of NVIDIA Founders Edition GPUs, we know they are technically available, but only under certain conditions or often if one gets lucky.

Source: Windows Central

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