Microsoft Takes on Apple's Entry-Level iPad With 10-inch 'Surface Go' Starting at $399

Microsoft yesterday unveiled the 10-inch Surface Go, the company’s smallest and lightest tablet computer to date. Priced at $399, the device is aimed at the same $500-and-under market as Apple’s 9.7-inch iPad, which starts at $329.

Looks-wise, the Go is basically a smaller version of the $799 Surface Pro, including the integrated kickstand and a front-facing camera above the 1800 x 1200 resolution IPS touchscreen display.

On the right side of the Go is a magnetic Surface Connector port for charging and connecting to a desktop dock, one USB-C port, and a headphone jack, with a microSD card slot located underneath the hinge.

Inside, the Go features a fanless Kaby Lake dual-core Intel Pentium Gold processor, 4GB or 8GB RAM, and 64GB or 128GB solid-state storage. Microsoft claims the Go has up to 9 hours of battery life.

Weighing in at 1.15lbs, the Go is slightly heavier than Apple’s iPad. Like the Surface Pro, the Go supports the $99 Surface Pen (Apple added Apple Pencil support to its $329 iPad in March.) and optional keyboard cover, which starts at $99 in black, with four color options costing $129. The optional Surface Mobile Mouse costs $35.

Off the shelf, Surface Go devices will run Windows 10 in “S mode”, a streamlined version of Microsoft’s desktop OS that only runs verified apps downloaded from the Windows Store, although customers can switch to the regular version of Windows 10 at no additional cost. For business customers, Microsoft is also offering a Surface Go with Windows 10 Pro installed for $449.

The $399 Surface Go ships August 2 in the U.S. and two dozen other markets, with Wi-Fi versions available initially and LTE versions to come later in the year.

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