Is Surface Go's keyboard too small to be useful?
Does Surface Go come with a Type Cover?
Buying the Surface Go, you get just the tablet. Any accessories, including Surface Pen and Type Cover, are sold separately. This means that you can save money if you don't think the Type Cover will work for your needs.
Surface Go Type Cover has decent key travel
Considering the Surface Pro's official Type Covers have 1.3 mm of key travel, the Surface Go Type Cover with 1.0 mm is not bad. You'll no doubt notice a difference for the first couple hundred words you type, but you shouldn't have any issues with discomfort from shallow travel. That said, the Surface Go is pretty small. So people with larger hands will obviously struggle a bit more than those with smaller fingers.
The keys have two levels of backlight to help you pick them out in dim lighting, and they use the same scissor mechanism as other Surface keyboards for a satisfying click.
Surface Go Type Cover has a large touchpad
Small keyboards will often sacrifice touchpad space — just look at the Surface 3's small touchpad — but not here. The Surface Go makes good on the space available below the keys, offering up something that's about the same size (56 mm x 101 mm) as on the Surface Pro's Type Cover.
Microsoft's Precision drivers allow for the full gamut of Windows 10 three- and four-finger gestures, meaning you don't lose any functionality.
What about keyboard alternatives?
There currently aren't any alternative keyboards that connect to the Surface Go through the bottom port, but like the Surface Pro and its third-party Type Cover alternatives, it's expected that there will be a few available in the near future.
If you'd rather not use the Surface Go's Type Cover, you can always connect a full-size external keyboard and mouse.
You can't beat the official Surface Go keyboard
Available in two different versions — one with and one without an Alcantara finish — the official Type Cover from Microsoft makes the most out of its limited space. It has backlit keys with 1.0 mm of key travel, it has a spacious touchpad, and while you might not want to use it to write a novel, it certainly gets the job done while you're on the move.
The most portable Surface from Microsoft
Microsoft's Surface Go is an ultraportable 2-in-1 that can be used on its own or with a Type Cover. It has a beautiful display, high-quality build, and it can even be had with LTE connectivity.
