More so than any Surface before it, the Go feels like a tablet instead of a PC. Its slightly curved edges make it comfortable in your hands, and it's light enough that I didn't mind holding it for hours as I read comics and caught up on my Pocket queue. It easily fits into slim messenger bags and doesn't feel as burdensome as a typical ultraportable laptop, or even the Surface Pro (which weighs 2.4 pounds with its Type Cover). Most importantly, it does all of this while still giving me access to everything Windows 10 offers. But like any ultra-slim machine, there are compromises.

For one, the Surface Go ships with Windows 10 S, which limits you to apps from the Microsoft Store. You can switch to unfettered Windows 10 Home free (which I did for this review), but that's still an added layer of confusion. Plenty of people might be scared off by the warnings that appear the first time you try to install a third-party app while in S Mode. It's understandable why Microsoft wants to control the app experience a bit because rogue software is a major reason why PCs end up feeling sluggish over time, not to mention they can also be a major security risk. But the restrictive approach feels unpalatable when the Microsoft Store is still a barren wasteland.

There are a handful of popular apps, like iTunes, Spotify and Netflix, but you won't find any major newspapers like The New York Times or apps that take advantage of the tablet format. Instead, you'll find yourself spending more time browsing websites in Edge. And while it's nice to have a native web experience in a tablet, I longed for apps actually optimized for slates like you'd find on iOS and Android. We're used to tablets being consumption devices, and the Surface Go fails a bit in that respect because Windows 10 isn't specifically geared toward slates.

But on a rosier note, the Surface Go shines when it comes to being productive. Mostly, that's because Microsoft delivered another killer Type Cover. The smaller form factor takes a bit of getting used to, but it wasn't long before my fingers were flying across the keys. Touch typists will appreciate how Microsoft shrunk down the standard keyboard layout, and there's a slight curve along the keys to guide your fingers to them.

I had no trouble writing most of this review and long articles on the Go's Type Cover. That's more than I can say for Apple's iPad Pro Smart Keyboard, which feels like you're typing on a soiled sponge. I was surprised that Microsoft was also able to fit in a large glass-covered trackpad and that it feels just as good as the Surface Pro's. It's smoother and more responsive than most laptop touchpads I've used.

If you haven't used the Surface kickstand before, there's a slight learning curve, especially as you figure out how to balance it on your lap. But while it might take some finagling, I've learned to appreciate the flexibility. It works best on a flat table, but I was also able to use it in a variety of other situations, including: on a cushion while reclining on my couch and on top of my duvet in bed. Sure, it's not as stable as a traditional laptop, but the Go's kickstand is far more functional than something like the iPad Pro's foldable keyboard cover, which only works on perfectly flat surfaces.

Performance and battery life

While I found myself more productive with the Surface Go than any other tablet, I still had to keep my expectations in check. It's limited by the dual-core Pentium Gold 4415Y CPU, a low-power seventh-generation Intel processor. Microsoft claims its around 30 percent faster than the Atom that was used in the Surface 3, and our benchmarks show it's a noticeable improvement. But it still feels like an odd choice for a machine in 2018. (Or maybe I'm just chafing at saying "Pentium" again.)

With our review model -- the slightly souped-up $549 Surface Go with 8GB of RAM -- I was able to juggle between multiple Chrome and Edge tabs, Evernote, Spotify and Slack easily. But the Pentium Gold CPU sometimes had trouble keeping up when I tried to load a complex web page with embedded video, or when Onedrive decided it needed re-synchronize all of my files. Basically, any task that's the least bit demanding would rocket my CPU usage up to 100 percent.