Microsoft Surface Go
Hacker ApprovedRanked 4 of 5 2-in-1 laptops by recommenders
A small tablet people use for light work and travel alongside a main laptop, and it runs Linux reasonably well. Common caveat: it feels sluggish and is weak as a full laptop.
A small tablet people use for light work and travel alongside a main laptop, and it runs Linux reasonably well. Common caveat: it feels sluggish and is weak as a full laptop.
17 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 12
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 71%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 12 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Practical for light work and travel
“it shined if I had to to more work/research and I didn't have laptop with me”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “MacBook Neo and How the iPad Should Be” “does the job for when I'm not carrying my Macbook Air around with me”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Chuwi Minibook X: the netbook we deserve” “was one of the most practical little machines I've ever used”
Comment from 21 Aug 2026 in “We Rebuilt the Linux MicroVM Stack on Apple Silicon” - Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Surface Laptop Ultra: Made for World Makers”
Runs Linux well
“from what I know they run Linux fairly reliably now and can be gotten suprisingly cheaply”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “I turned a $80 RK3562 Android tablet into a Debian Linux workstation” “the least effort route might be the MS Surface Go 3 tablet running Windows or Linux”
Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “Quill OS: An open-source OS for Kobo's eReaders” “will be somewhat usable for that with Linux installed”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “MacBook Neo and How the iPad Should Be” - Comment from 25 Mar 2026 in “Apple Just Lost Me”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Feels sluggish, slow to start typing
“I'm addicted to the small form factor, but it's not as quick to open and start typing as a laptop would be.”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “Running Ubuntu on the Lenovo IdeaPad Duet” “super sluggish after upgrading to 11 even after debloating”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “2025 was a disaster for Windows 11 as bugs and intrusive features erode trust” Weak as a full laptop
“kind of just throws away the things you would pick windows for in the first place (legacy app compatibility)”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Microsoft bans the word "Microslop" on its Discord, then locks the server” “It was also a lousy laptop and a bad ebook reader.”
Comment from 8 Nov 2025 in “Ask HN: What's a Purchase You Regret?”
Other 2-in-1 laptops people recommend
The four most recommended other 2-in-1 laptops, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Surface | 64 | 60 | 52% | 11 | 2 yrs7 owners | — |
| Lenovo Yoga | 15 | 10 | 60% | 7 | 3 yrs4 owners | — |
| Microsoft Surface Book | 13 | 15 | 46% | 4 | — | — |
| Microsoft Surface GoThis page | 12 | 5 | 71% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Asus ROG Flow Z13 | 7 | 2 | 78% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
All 18 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I'm addicted to the small form factor, but it's not as quick to open and start typing as a laptop would be.”
“was one of the most practical little machines I've ever used”
“spent flipping hours trying and failing to get trackpad speed right on a Surface Go”
“I only have used the power connector on a Surface Go tablet but have really no complaints.”
“They both work well for what I use them for”
“its quote snappy for such a machine”
“does the job for when I'm not carrying my Macbook Air around with me”
“Surface laptop go/surface go match perfectly.”
“from what I know they run Linux fairly reliably now and can be gotten suprisingly cheaply”
“it shined if I had to to more work/research and I didn't have laptop with me”
“will be somewhat usable for that with Linux installed”
“everything I've tried works great ootb including pen/touch”
“I got a Surface Go 1 running exactly that setup”
“kind of just throws away the things you would pick windows for in the first place (legacy app compatibility)”
“if it only eats the first character, that's a good showing”
“super sluggish after upgrading to 11 even after debloating”
“the least effort route might be the MS Surface Go 3 tablet running Windows or Linux”
“It was also a lousy laptop and a bad ebook reader.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.