Surface Laptop SE vs. Go 3: Which is better for students?
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Best for schools
Schools looking to buy devices in bulk should opt for the Surface Laptop SE, as it’s capable enough to handle schoolwork, features excellent battery life, and is priced at a rock-bottom $250 per unit. However, it doesn’t have a touchscreen, and the laptop is also not powerful enough to handle anything beyond simple homework tasks.
Best for individuals
The Surface Go 3 is the better choice for individual students, as it’s more capable, comes with a touchscreen, is still very affordable, and is actually available to regular consumers. Notably, though, the battery life is a little worse, and the device doesn’t come with Microsoft Office preinstalled.
While both of these laptops are excellent, schools looking to buy in bulk should opt for theSurface Laptop SEthanks to its rock-bottom cost, ability to handle schoolwork well, and its excellent battery life. However, individual students who need a new device should get aSurface Go 3instead. Not only can it handle some recreational activities as well as schoolwork, but it also has a touchscreen and is actually available to regular consumers.
Surface Laptop SE vs. Go 3: Specs and availability
Across the board, the Surface Go 3 is more capable than the Surface Laptop SE in almost every way. It has a better processor, options for a larger SSD, a sharper and more color accurate display (with touch support, no less), an option for LTE connectivity, a microSD card reader, dual microphones, and it even weighs over a full pound less. It’s also important to note that the Surface Go 3 is available to all consumers, whereas Microsoft only sells the Surface Laptop SE to education facilities and personnel.
The only advantages the Surface Laptop SE has are its superb 16-hour battery life and its preinstalled Microsoft Office software. These benefits are great for schools that need to buy laptops in bulk, as staff won’t need to worry about paying for Microsoft Office or charging the devices much.
Conclusion
With all of that said, it’s clear that the Surface Laptop SE will be the best choice for schools looking to buy laptops in bulk, while the Surface Go 3 is ideal for individual students who may want something more multipurpose. The Surface Laptop SE’s incredibly low cost, fantastic battery life, and preinstalled Microsoft Office applications make it perfect for the classroom, while the Surface Go 3’s stronger specs make it a good choice if you want something that’s good for schoolworkandrecreational activities like watching movies and TV shows. The Surface Go 3’s touchscreen also gives it more flexibility, allowing you to use it for drawing as well as educational tasks like notetaking.
For more excellent laptops to consider, review our roundups of thebest Windows laptopsas well as thebest budget laptopsavailable.
Full marks
Schools looking to buy devices in bulk should opt for the Surface Laptop SE, as its capable enough to handle schoolwork, features excellent battery life, and is priced at a rock-bottom $250 per unit. However, it doesn’t have a touchscreen, and the laptop is also not powerful enough to handle anything beyond simple homework tasks.
The little Surface that could
The Surface Go 3 is the better choice for individual students, as it’s more capable, comes with a touchscreen, is still very affordable, and is actually available to regular consumers. Notably, though, the battery life is a little worse, and the device doesn’t come with Microsoft Office preinstalled.
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Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he’s been an avid fan since childhood. He’s been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you’ll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he’s not writing or gaming, there’s a good chance he’s either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once.Follow him on X(Twitter).
