Microsoft might be working on an affordable Surface laptop that will find its customers among students. The alleged laptop under the Surface brand will be like the Surface Go tablet, albeit with a larger footprint. Microsoft's Surface Laptop is very much pricier than its Surface Go and this new Surface laptop will fill that gap.

According to Windows Central, citing inside sources, the budget Surface laptop could cost between $500 and $600, which is still a high price considering the affordability factor for students. But the Surface Laptop 3 starts at $999.99 in the US and if we go by that price, then the upcoming Surface laptop seems reasonably priced.

It is going to be positioned the same way the Surface Go is in the Surface Pro lineup. In fact, the publication is calling it the Surface Laptop Go for that reason. The final cost is not out yet but the projections are not bad for a Surface-branded laptop.

The Surface laptop will feature the 10th-generation Intel Core i5 CPU. The choice of processor could be the Y-series, given the price of the laptop. There will be 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage on it. Now, there is no information whether that storage is SSD type or whether Microsoft is going for an eMMC storage on the low-cost Surface. And finally, it is going to have a 12.5-inch screen, possibly with only 720p resolution.

The laptop will run the Windows 10 S Mode, which means it will run apps downloaded from Microsoft Store and the Edge browser. This sounds like a good ecosystem for students who need to focus on performance and security at the same time. With this ecosystem, the Surface laptop could counter Google Chromebooks that also allow users to stay within the app library.

It could be Microsoft's answer to Google's Chromebooks that are getting increasingly popular among students. Apart from Google's Pixelbook, there are several ODMs that offer Chrome OS on their low-range laptops but have also tried offering some expensive ones with more advanced features.

Microsoft might be looking to capitalise on the opportunity the coronavirus pandemic has inevitably created. People are spending less money on things such as a laptop, which otherwise has become a necessity that allows for 'work-from-home' setups. As such, what could be a better option than a low-cost Surface laptop?