5 Things To Know About Microsoft's Surface Go

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Microsoft is continuing to expand its Surface lineup, with the company now introducing a smaller and affordably priced 2-in-1 Surface tablet -- the Surface Go. The tablet is Microsoft's first release of a cheaper Surface in three years, following the Surface 3 in 2015. While the Surface Go shares some elements in common with Microsoft's productivity-focused Surface Pro, the new tablet also has some key differences that allow for the lower price tag. The Surface Go joins a lineup that now includes the Surface Pro, the detachable Surface Book notebook, the student-focused Surface Laptop and the Surface Studio, an all-in-one touch screen PC.

What follows are five key things to know about Microsoft's new Surface Go tablet.

Display & Processor

The Surface Go will feature a 10-inch PixelSense display, compared to the 12.3-inch display of the Surface Pro. That also makes the Surface Go a bit smaller than the Surface 3, which came with a 10.8-inch screen. The display resolution on the Surface Go is 1,800 x 1,200 pixels, which gives it 217 ppi (pixels per inch). That's actually higher ppi than the Surface Laptop, which sports 201 ppi, but well below the Surface Pro, at 267 ppi.

The 10-inch size allows the Surface Go to be roughly the size of a composition notebook -- making it ideal for education, particularly in grades 3-6 where it would essentially serve as a full-sized computer, Microsoft said.

Another major difference from the Surface Pro is on the processor. The Surface Go features the Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y chip, which trails the speed of the processors available with the Surface Pro -- including Intel Core i5 and Core i7. As the processor is one of the priciest components in modern devices, this is one of the key tradeoffs allowing for the lower price point of the Surface Go.

Keyboard & Pen

Like the Surface Pro, the Surface Go tablet has 2-in-1 functionality with the option of connecting to a Type Cover keyboard (which is sold separately). The Surface Go keyboard comes with keys that are the same size as the Surface Pro keys -- and have some design tweaks that should also improve the feel of the keys, according to Microsoft. Also akin to the Surface Pro keyboard, the Surface Go keyboard will come in two versions -- a standard version, and a Signature Type Cover with Alcantara fabric around the keyboard. Additionally, the trackpad on the Surface Go keyboard is actually larger than on the Surface Pro keyboard, Microsoft said.

Meanwhile, the Surface Go will work with the Surface Pen, the same digital stylus that works with the Surface Pro. The Surface Pen will be sold separately.

Portability & Battery Life

The Surface Go tablet measures 0.31 of an inch thick and weighs 1.15 pounds, which makes it a fair amount lighter than the 1.7-pound Surface Pro. The Type Cover adds about a half pound to the weight.

On battery life, Microsoft is promising up to nine hours of usage for the Surface Go. That's a respectable amount for a tablet, though it's significantly less battery life than is available in the Surface Pro, which promises up to 13.5 hours on a charge.

Other Specs

The Surface Go offers HD webcams on both the front and back of the tablet -- an 8-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front-facing camera -- and supports facial recognition log-in via Windows Hello. For connectors, the Surface Go comes with USB-C, Surface Connect and a MicroSDXC card reader. At the outset, the Surface Go is available in two variants in terms of storage and RAM - a model with 64 GB of storage and 4 GB of RAM, and a variant with 128 GB of storage and 8 GB of RAM.

Price & Availability

The Surface Go will come in two versions -- one for consumers and education, and the other for commercial. The commercial version will run Windows 10 Pro and cost $449. The consumer/education version will run Windows 10 Home in S mode -- which only allows apps that are available in the Windows store -- and will be priced at $399. (By comparison, the Surface Pro starts at $799.) The consumer/education version of the Surface Go can be switched to Windows 10 Pro, Microsoft noted. The Surface Go will be available through Microsoft resellers as well as retailers, the company said.

Pre-orders for the tablet launch today, and the device will begin shipping in the U.S. and Canada as of Aug. 2. Getting the standard Type Cover will add $99, while you'll pay $129 for the Signature Type Cover. An LTE-enabled model of the Surface Go will be available "later this year," Microsoft said.