Here's (almost) everything you need to know about Microsoft's unannounced Surface Go 3
UPDATE: With just a few hours left until Microsoft's big event, Twitter leaker Snoopy appears to have revealed every last Surface Go 3 secret... apart from the pricing structure. Unfortunately, the battery life is unlikely to get an upgrade after all, sitting at the same old (and respectable) 10-hour endurance rating, while the Intel Pentium 4425Y processor inside the entry-level variant could go unchanged for some reason as well.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is working on at least one LTE-enabled model to join the three or four Wi-Fi-only SKUs to market soon, with the "time of availability" currently being estimated at October 5 for some of those configurations. The 4G LTE support will be combined with Intel Core i3 power, 8GB RAM, and a 128GB SSD, with all pricing details still up in the air. Our original story follows below.
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In addition to a hopefully more refined Surface Duo 2 handset with 5G support and a much faster processor under the hood than the original edition, the Redmond-based tech giant is likely to take the wraps off a Surface Go 3 tablet on September 22.
The next iteration of Microsoft's budget-friendly iPad rival is not exactly the world's best-kept secret, at least if we choose to trust a number of retailer listings spotted by WinFuture's eagle-eyed Roland Quandt in Thailand of all places.
The newly surfaced information (no pun intended) certainly seems plausible, including a lot of familiar specifications. Namely, it looks like the Surface Go 3 could retain everything from its predecessor's general aesthetic to a 10.5-inch PixelSense display with a resolution of 1920 x 1280 pixels, 8MP rear-facing camera, 5MP selfie shooter, 2W stereo speakers, and up to 8GB RAM.
Naturally, the Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y and 8th Gen Core m3 processors inside last year's Surface Go 2 will be replaced with newer and significantly more powerful Pentium Gold 6500Y and 10th Gen Core i3-10100Y models, providing undoubtedly the single most important Surface Go 3 upgrade.
Intriguingly, Microsoft could claim a major improvement in battery life too, from up to 10 hours of continuous "typical" device usage last year to no less than 13 hours this time around, although it might be wise to wait before getting too excited about this particular change considering the Surface Go 3 is not expected to be any heavier or thicker than the Go 2.
In terms of storage and memory configurations, the Pentium-powered slate is tipped to come with your choice of 4 and 8 gigs of RAM paired with 64GB eMMC and 128GB SSD technology respectively. The single Core i3 variant, meanwhile, should combine 8GB memory with a speedy 128 gig solid-state drive at an unknown price for the time being.
Knowing Microsoft, of course, we can anticipate the Surface Go 3 will largely follow the Go 2's example and cost anywhere between $400 and $650 in Wi-Fi-only configurations, with a pricier cellular-enabled version obviously being a strong possibility as well.
While we're on the subject, the Wi-Fi technology is expected to be upgraded to the 802.11ax standard, aka Wi-Fi 6, with everything else in the ports and connectivity section looking unchanged from 2020.
It remains to be seen if Microsoft will be able to add its next mid-ranger to our list of the best tablets money can buy in 2021, which already includes the higher-end Surface Pro 7. A Surface Pro 8 could also be unveiled on September 22, by the way, although the last report mentioning such a product that we can remember right now dates all the way back to February.
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