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Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. Microsoft's new Surface Go really is a shrunken version of its popular Surface Pro.

The 10-inch Surface Go is Microsoft's smallest, thinnest, and lightest Surface tablet to date. And with a starting price of $399, the Go is also the cheapest Surface as well.

A Surface RT (remember that disastrous tablet?) the Go is not. This mini Surface runs Windows 10 in its entirety and allx86 apps.

SEE ALSO:Inside Microsoft's secret Surface testing labs

My first thought after a Microsoft executive pulled the Go out of her purse wasn't, "Oh, that's really small" but "Why?" Why would anyone need a mini Surface Pro? And it really is a smaller version of the 2-in-1 — hinge, keyboard cover, stylus, and all.

Microsoft didn't really answer my question. I was told many Surface device users (Pro, Laptop, Book, etc.) used their devices primarily for work and they wanted something personal that would still work with all of their existing Surface work accessories, (i.e. dock and magnetic charger) and could easily be carried around.

I was also told there was a huge price range to fulfill — the $500-and-under premium tablet category, which is dominated by the iPad. This makes a lot more sense. Apple's increasingly adding more productivity-friendly features to the iPad (the $329 iPad got Apple Pencil support this year), and the iPad Pro with Smart Keyboard, running iOS 11, has made doing work on the machine more realistic.

With the iPads encroaching on Surface Pro territory, it's only logical to fight them head-on with the similarly-priced Surface Go, which arguably does more with Windows 10.

It's a baby Surface

Much like how new iPads are unmistakably iPads, the Surface Go is unmistakably a Surface. It's smaller — only 8.3mm (0.33 inch) thick and 1.15 pounds — and the corners and edges are rounder and softer, but the build quality is still top-notch.

Look at how small the Surface Go (center) is compared to the Surface Pro (left) and Surface Laptop (right).Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

The body's still the same smooth and sturdy magnesium alloy as the Surface Pro. The screen is the same 3:2 aspect ratio as well. The 10-inch PixelSense Display's got fewer pixels (1,800 x 1,200) than the Pro, but it still looks sharp and supports multi-touch with up to 10 fingers. The bezels are a little thick for a modern tablet, but on the plus side, there are two front-firing speakers built into them.

The 10-inch screen is small, but it can still open two apps side-by-side.Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Like the Surface Pro, the Go has an excellent kickstand. It doesn't click into place at certain angles, though. Instead, it's just one smooth tilt as far back as 165 degrees. From what I could tell, it's very well-built.

The Go's port selection is a bit limited, though. There are just three on the right side: the magnetic Surface port, one USB-C 3.1 port, and a headphone jack. A microSD card slot is hidden underneath the hinge.

You get a Surface port, one USB-C, a headphone jack, and a microSD card slot (behind hinge).Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLEThe front-firing stereo speakers support Dolby Audio Premium.Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

On the front is a 5-megapixel HD camera and on the back is an 8-megapixel shooter. The cameras are okay — you're not really gonna be taking selfies or Instagram photos with them — and are more for Skype calls and scanning documents than serious photography. So they should be more than adequate. Oh, and the Surface Go supports Windows Hello face log-in.

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On the back's a 8-megapixel camera.Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

So that's a rundown of the Go's external hardware. But what about its guts? What corners did Microsoft have to cut in order to get the Go down to a $399 starting price?

For starters, the processor's not as beefy as the Surface Pro's. The Go comes with seventh-generation Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y processor (yeah, Pentium chips still exist) and Intel HD Graphics 615. These chips, I'm told, are just a step below Intel's Core M chips. The Go's also fanless, which means it runs silent.

According to Microsoft's benchmarks, though, the Go's no slouch. It has 33 percent faster graphics than a Surface Pro 3 with an Intel Core i5 chip and 20 percent faster graphics performance than a Pro 3 with Core i7 chip. I didn't get a whole lot of hands-on time with the Go, but Windows 10 ran smoothly on a demo unit.

The kickstand tilts back up to 165 degrees.Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Go configurations come with either 4GB or 8GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage.

Microsoft says the Go gets up to 9 hours of battery life for continuous video playback. I'm skeptical since an iPad gets up to 10 hours of battery life, and Windows 10 is more of a power hog than iOS. But if the Go really does get up to 9 hours of battery, I'll be really impressed.

Keyboard and stylus cost extra

The $100 keyboard is made of plastic material. $130 gets you the one covered with Alcantara.Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

As with the Surface Pro, the Go supports its own Microsoft Type Cover keyboard and all existing Surface Pens.

These two essential accessories (at least, I consider them to be) are sold separately. $100 for the plastic keyboard and $100 for the stylus. If you really want the Alcantara-covered keyboard, that's $130.

That means the cost of a Surface Go is really +$100-200. I grilled Microsoft on why they didn't bundle the keyboard together and got your typical canned response: They want to give people choice.

I just don't understand why companies keep doing this — like the Surface Pro, the Go is clearly designed to work best with a keyboard cover. So why not bundle them together to make the device truly irresistible?

On the bright side, the Go retains the Surface Pro's magnetic edge so you can clip the Surface Pen to it.

The keyboard is a joy to type on.Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLEThe touchscreen is every bit as responsive as the Surface Pro's.Credit: RAYMOND WONG/MASHABLE

Both of these accessories are precision-made and work to the caliber you'd expect from Microsoft. The keyboard has keys with great travel, unlike the ultra-flat ones on Apple's MacBooks. And the trackpad is very responsive.

Likewise, the touchscreen is fantastic. To better suit the smaller screen, Microsoft says it's optimized Windows 10 with ever-so-slightly larger touch elements.

All hail the iPad killer?

Microsoft's also got a $35 new wireless mouse and Touch Cover Keyboards in a number of colors.Credit: raymond wong/mashable

It's hard to say if Microsoft's Surface Go is better or worse than an iPad or iPad Pro. Can the Intel Pentium Gold processor keep up with the demands of Windows 10? (Note: The Go ships with Windows 10 in S Mode, but you can switch it to Windows 10 Pro with a one-way setting.) Will the battery life hold up?

There are a lot of unanswered questions that will only be answered once we've tested the Go. But, first impressions: I liked what I saw.

The value also seems to be much better than an 10.5-inch iPad Pro, which starts at $650 without keyboard. For the same price, you can get a Surface Go with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage ($550), and a keyboard.

The Surface Go will be available on Aug. 2 from Microsoft and select retailers. Microsoft's also going to sell an LTE version for an $130 extra later this year.

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TopicsMicrosoftWindows