Summary

  • Microsoft has reportedly abandoned plans for releasing a Surface Go 4 with an Arm-based chip in 2023, opting for an Intel CPU for now.
  • The Surface Go 4 is expected to be refreshed in 2023 with the Intel Processor N200 CPU, offering better efficiency than the current model.
  • Microsoft is prioritizing commercial and education customers and repairability with the new Surface Go 4, which might also be called "Surface Go 3+"

You might not want to get your hopes up if you were hoping to see the Surface Go 4 in a Windows on Arm variant this year. According to new reporting from Windows Central's Zac Bowden, the Redmond giant has just canned its plans for a Surface Go 4 with an Arm-based chip, opting for Intel CPU instead for now.

With the device apparently code-named Tanta, Bowden now believes that Microsoft will be simply refreshing the Surface Go 4 with a CPU better suited for commercial customers in 2023. That means Microsoft could be going for the Intel Processor N200 CPU. As a reminder, that's the chip line that's essentially replacing the Pentium and Celeron CPUs that you're probably familiar with. This chip sports four total cores, running at 6W. Bowden believes the chip will be more efficient than the current Intel Core i3-10100Y on the Surface Go 3.

Similar to rumors we've heard about the Surface Laptop Go 3, it also seems as though Microsoft could be focusing on repairability with the new Surface Go 4. That means you can expect to see things like replaceable SSDs onboard. Also per Bowden, this repairability is going to be a new priority at Microsoft. This isn't all too shocking, considering that the Surface Pro 9, and Surface Laptop 5 are all slightly more repairable, and the company now sells replacement Surface parts.

While not coming in 2024, Microsoft still might be planning to shop a future Surface Go with an Arm chip under the hood. There's no known date, though and the new Surface Go that we expect to see this Fall is instead going to be a device for business and education. It might not even be called Surface Go 4, instead being called "Surface Go 3+," according to Bowden.

We'll have to wait and see what Microsoft ends up launching, but the news is a letdown for those who were happy to see Microsoft's progress on Windows on ARM. The platform has come a long way, and Microsoft even has an Arm-based variant of the Surface Pro 9, but it's apparently not good enough for business just yet.