Is the SQ2 that much better?
Nice machine, but once you add in the keyboard it’s basically a $1000 system. That’s a lot of money for a tablet with an outdated ARM SoC.
Looks like it’s at best a 10% difference in benchmarks between SQ1 and SQ2, so in that sense no huge downside buying the older model.
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If I’m going ARM with a device not compatible with the majority of the Windows universe, I think I’ll stick with Apple… 
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In the case MS will announce an ARM Surface Go, do you think MS will still offer an Intel/x86 version too? (like maybe just a refreshed version of the Go 2 / 3 like they did with the Pro 7+ ?). Also bonus question: do you MS will axe the microSD port for the Go 4 as well as they did for the Pro 8?
ps: nice forum, I am from the old tabletpcreview forums (same username, I believe).
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Welcome to the new home of TPCR! Glad you found us. 
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I thought I recognized your name. Welcome to the new forum!
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Strictly a guess but I think not. If MS goes arm on the Go, it’ll be all in. And, they had better not do away with the SD card slot. I use it all the time for handling large files I didnt want on my C drive.
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I agree with @bronsky on this. If/when the Go goes ARM, that will be it. If you want an intel-based surface you still have plenty of choices, albeit not in as tiny of a package. OTOH, if the new hypothetical Go achieves the same overall performance as the old go, what have you really lost?
And I do think that finally, that performance may be within reach, with the new Snapdragons and others in the pipeline. Heck the much-maligned ProX when running Windows 11 and 64-bit x86 emulation, it is actually pretty close real world already, with the notable exception of games.
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And what have you gained by upgrading from the old go? 
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better display, thinner, and lighter weight, less bezel, better battery life, 5G, assuming they follow the design ethos of the Pro 8/X
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thanks!
makes sense from a budget perspective. The SD card is indeed very handy, for me it triples as 2nd storage, for fast camera picture transfer and sometimes as a large usb stick basically.
don’t get me wrong I would still consider an ARM base Go 
, I was just wondering because I play a lot of games on my Go 2. (improved battery life and 11" would be a nice upgrade for that)
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@Daddyfish FYI this new forum wants the open and close quote tags on their own separate line. There are some other quirks and features, see the How to use this forum - Tips and Tricks thread
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This is from one of the former cynics of WOA. It’s a worthwhile read, though I don’t think it will win any “hearts and minds” over to the Pro X.
OTOH, there does seem to be an overall uptick in chatter generally on WOA, so perhaps MS is engaging in some lower level ground based messaging.
That all being said by far the biggest issue with WOA in the broader market is that MS can’t seem to come up with a coherent, sustained message why anyone would want it over X86 windows IMHO. Even arguably the best, (although still weak, message…)which was "a much nicer looking/feeling Surface Pro went away with the advent of the Pro 8
OTOH, the rumor mill has swung the vaporous NEO back to being a WOA device once more.
10 years later, I’m finally a believer in Windows on ARM | Digital Trends
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Last December when I tried M1 Mac mini + Parallels + beta WOA I discovered it wasn’t half bad, given some horsepower behind it. Omitting Rosetta 2 and Parallels in the chain would mean a lesser CPU could be decent. WOA had some glitches but it was pretty much there, at least for my needs.
The gotcha was the ARM CPU and maybe the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 will do the trick, or at least show that it’s a viable direction to take for many people.
I mean, Apple users haven’t complained about the switch from Intel to ARM. The difference? A (more than) sufficiently powerful CPU and (more than) decent x64 “emulation” (compatibility layer). MS didn’t even have x64 emulation in a release WOA till this year so it wasn’t something most people could switch to no matter the device sexiness. Only those with very narrow needs that fit with what was offered on WOA need apply.
I’m assuming that the x86 and x64 emulation has continued to improve—I doubt MS can get to Rosetta 2 performance but hopefully close. If the new ARM chips for desktop aren’t just Qualcomm hype again could next year finally be the year of WOA? Or will MS stumble again? It’ll be fun to watch!
MS has been plugging away at it generally though they haven’t been real public about some of the benefits of it.
Specifically 64bit X86 emulation which of course requires Windows 11 is actually faster than the 32 bit emulation previously. It’s not huge in all cases but is significant with generally overall about a 20% gain, and of course, a much wider app compatibility.
Another area is a niche one, but the Android subsystem is now fully native on WOA and with a good chunk of Android apps, it’s among the fastest out there. One glaring exception though, is games, and that’s down to the graphics cores in even the SQ2 being multiple generations behind the recent Snapdragons.
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Are they still using the anemic Amazon store?
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I have the android sub system installed & using the open source Aurora app store. Only apps really missing are the ones that require google services but so far had all the apps I wanted to install.
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Yes and there now easy to use tools, including on the Windows app store, such a WSAtools for example, that make sideloading apps trivial (except for Googles own apps)
and APK mirror is a good resource for most apk files available
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That evil Google.
Meanwhile, the Android subsystem still isn’t available outside the US.
Not that I care, though.
