Surface Laptop Go 2 Leak Shows Off A Fresh New Look
In 2020, Microsoft introduced the first-generation Surface Laptop Go — a relatively affordable alternative to the company's existing lineup of premium notebooks. The machine received mixed reactions, and even we were on the fence about this one in our review. While the model packed decent hardware specs, a great design, and excellent battery life, there were some glaring omissions, like the less than stellar display resolution, lack of SSD storage, and omitted LTE support.
The Surface Laptop Go went on to become a fairly popular notebook among students, primarily due to its lower pricing and compact form factor. Additionally, the Surface Laptop Go's launch coincided with the global pandemic, which seems to have led to better than expected sales figures for the product. This, in turn, has seemingly prompted Microsoft to consider bringing a successor to the market.
The folks over at WindowsCentral claim in a new report that Microsoft is actively planning to launch the Surface Laptop Go 2 in the first half of 2022, and that the model has been internally codenamed "Zuma."
What we know about the Surface Laptop Go 2 so far
According to Windows Central, Microsoft will not be making significant changes to the design of the Surface Laptop Go 2. While we do not have pictures yet, it is pretty likely the product will retain the 12.4-inch display we saw on the original model. It remains to be seen if Microsoft adds or removes ports for peripherals or makes significant changes to the chassis and materials used for the product.
A major omission on the first-gen Surface Laptop Go was a backlit keyboard, and there is a good chance Microsoft will address this issue with this product refresh. In addition, this time around, Microsoft is also likely to offer the Surface Laptop Go 2 in a new color option called "Sage" which will join the other three colors – Platinum, Ice Blue, and Sandstone – from the previous generation.
There has also been talk about the entry-level variant of the Surface Laptop Go 2 starting off with 128GB of storage, unlike the previous model that only came with a paltry 64GB capacity. In addition, the 2022 edition of the Surface Laptop Go 2 will most likely ship with Intel's 11th-generation Core i5 chips. The report adds that Microsoft is unlikely to make significant changes to the pricing structure of the Surface Laptop Go 2. We can likely expect the baseline Surface Laptop Go 2 to retail for $549 — the same price as its 2020 predecessor.
As mentioned earlier, current estimates are that the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 2 will launch in the first half of 2022. It's probably safe to expect an official announcement from Microsoft before the end of June 2022.