I know this may sound like a very strange comparison. But I was literally doing this comparison myself before I eventually pulled the triggered and bought one of them.
| Specification | Surface Pro 1 | Surface Go 2 |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 3317U | Intel® Pentium® Gold Processor 4425Y 8th Gen Intel® Core m3 Processor |
| Ram | 4GB | 4GB or 8GB |
| Storage | 64GB SSD 128GB SSD | eMMC Drive: 64GB SSD: 128GB |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g/n) Bluetooth®4.0 technology | WiFi: IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology LTE Advanced3: Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ X16 LTE Modem |
| Display | Screen: 10.6 inch ClearType Full HD Display Resolution: 1920 x 1080 Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (widescreen) Touch: 10-point multi-touch | Screen: 10.5″ PixelSense™ Display Resolution: 1920 x 1280 (220 PPI) resolution Aspect ratio: 3:2 Contrast ratio: 1500:1 Touch: 10 point multi-touch Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 |
| Weight, Exterior | Dimensions: 10.81 in (27.5 cm) x 6.81 in (17.3 cm) x 0.53 in (13.46 mm) Weight: 910grams (Less than 2lbs) Casing: VaporMg Color: Dark Titanium Integrated kickstand Physical buttons: Volume, Power, and Windows button | Wi-Fi: 544 grams (1.2 lb) LTE Advanced: 553 grams (1.22 lb) Casing: Magnesium Colour: Platinum Physical buttons: Volume, Power |
| Camera, Audio, Video | Two 720p HD cameras, front and rear-facing Microphone Stereo speakers | Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing) 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p Skype HD video 8.0MP rear-facing auto-focus camera with 1080p HD video Dual Studio Mics 2W stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ |
| Ports | Full-size USB 3.0 microSDXC card slot Headset jack Mini DisplayPort Cover port | 1 x USB-C® 3.5 mm headphone jack 1 x Surface Connect port Surface Type Cover Port MicroSDXC Card Reader Compatible with Surface Dial* |
| Sensor | Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer | Ambient light sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer |
Looking at the specs above, I am surprised that the Surface Go 2 released in 2020 is equipped with processor that is weaker that the processor of Surface Pro 1 which is released in 2012 (Benchmark Test). The processor is one of the main core component that determines the speed of the device which is one of the most critical element to look at for any laptop or tablets. The processor does plays a major part to the price of the device too. To my surprise, Surface Go 2 actually even offer a lower end option of 64GB eMMC storage is slower than the SSD storage. Instead, Surface Go 2 has fancy features such as Windows Hello face authentication, better cameras and better speakers. I do not own the Surface Go 2 but I doubt that it will be any faster than the Surface Pro 1. Perhaps for 8GB ram, Surface Go 2 can do a slightly better on multi tasking activities. The only attractive highlight of Surface Go 2 is the weight which is only 544 grams where as the Surface Pro 1 weight at 910 grams.
I am not recommending Surface Pro 1 but I just want to highlight that Surface Go 2 does not seem to be a good buy at S$600+ today new from Microsoft. Even the used version of the Surface Go 2 is also going for $400-$500 (depending on condition) on marketplace, but the Surface Pro 1 is only going for $100+.
If you are considering getting Surface Go 2 because you need that light-weighted tablet or those fancy features available in Surface Go 2, please be aware that you are buying into something of a speed that is as of technology that is almost 9 years ago.
Manufacturers are coming out so many models and devices to cater for different consumer budget but consumers are often not aware of such low/slow speed options and assume that newer devices often equal to faster devices. Manufactures equipped underpowered processors such as ARM, ATOM, m3 in their new release in order to keep the price affordable. But if you are thinking that they cant be slower than a 10 year old device, then you might be just wrong.