Microsoft’s recently unveiled Surface Book 2 is finally worth buying. Will it be a MacBook killer? You can decide for yourself after I give you a quick run-down of what the gadget ha to offer. It comes with a new form factor. The Surface Book 2 is also available in a 15” as well as a smaller 13.5” option. The Surface Book is, by no means, a small computer, because of its 3:2 aspect ratio and its controversial fulcrum hinge, resulting in a 15-incher (feels truly enormous). The design hasn’t changed one bit including the hinge except stiffening from the inside to accommodate the heavier 15” clipboard. You will find it less ‘wobbly’ when using the touch screen in laptop orientation.
Microsoft also claims to have reduced the time to eject the clipboard from the dock (screen from the keyboard), though it is very minimal to the point of not even being noticeable. For starters, the whole PC, which includes the RAM, storage, processor, cooling and more, sits inside the detachable screen, which Microsoft calls the ‘Clipboard’. The keyboard portion doesn’t hold much, except for some extra battery, extra ports and a graphics processing unit.
Each year, Microsoft improves the display’s pressure sensitivity, and it has bumped it up to over 4,000 pressure levels, which could be quite useful for an artist for the Surface Book comes with its stylus; unlike Apple’s, which costs $100 to buy separately. Microsoft has used last year’s dual core 7th generation core i5 processors for the 13.5” model, along with a 2GB GTX 1050 while processor and a more powerful 6GB GTX 1060. For more specs, visit the Microsoft Store.
Microsoft battery claims are notorious for their exaggeration, so take this with a grain of salt. The Seattle-based giant claims that the battery in the Clipboard will last 5 hours, an increase of two over last year’s three and when docked, the Surface Book will last for 17 hours, a hairline of an increase over last year’s 16 hours. In other words, 80 Wh in the 15” model, and 70 Wh in its younger sibling.
Microsoft has finally caught up the USB-C port, so one doesn’t have to worry about future-proofing. Since Microsoft isn’t as courageous as Apple, it has only replaced the display port for the USB-C. For IO (Input/Output), both Surface Books have 2 USB-A ports, a full-size SD card reader and a USB-C port.
The Surface Book 2 is great, but costs $1,500 for the 13.5” model, and $2500 for the 15”. The price tag is absurdly high to compete with normal laptops. Mind you, the Surface was meant to take on the MacBook Pro, which is not living up to its ‘Pro’ part. Apple has removed all ports except a USB-C, which is not enough to cater to professional users. Microsoft also pushed the point that the Surface Book 2 was twice as powerful as the MacBook Pro 2017. Well, it could be true, especially because of the extremely powerful graphics card and latest processors that put the MacBook Pro to shame. Overall, I have no verdict as to which one is better than the other. So you be the judge as a customer or user.
