Microsoft Surprise Launches Surface Book 2

Paul Briden 18/10/2017 - 8:57am

Microsoft has announced two new Surface Book 2 hybrids in 13.5in and 15in sizes

Sneaky, sneaky Microsoft has just quietly launched a new model of its Surface hybrid tablet-laptop series, specifically the second iteration of its Surface Book design, appropriately called the Surface Book 2.

This is an all-round update with a new design on the outside, and enhanced specs and hardware on the inside. Microsoft has also taken steps to improve the connectivity and battery performance, and the Surface Book 2 also comes in two size options, unlike its predecessor.

As per existing Surface designs, the overall principle is the same; it's essentially a tablet touch display with the internal hardware housed within, coupled with a detachable keyboard dock. Microsoft has improved the keyboard design and enhanced the hinge to be a bit more user-friendly, and it can attach the tablet body facing either direction.

The two sizes on offer are 13.5in 3000x2000 pixel and 15in 3240x2160  pixel touch displays and each is compatible with Microsoft's existing Surface accessories, like the Surface Pen stylus.

Internal hardware is bang up-to-date with both models running on Intel's top-tier chipsets. The 13.5in model has options for an Intel 7th Generation Core i5-7300U Kaby Lake CPU or an Intel 8th Generation Core i7-8650U Coffee Lake CPU. The 15in only has access to the latter.

On the GPU side, both have multiple options. For the 13.5in you're looking at either Intel HD Graphics 620 (Kaby Lake), Intel UHD Graphics 620 (Coffee Lake) or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (2GB)

For the 15in model it's either Intel UHD Graphics 620 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (6GB).

Internal storage options are 256GB, 512GB or 1TB SSD for both sizes, plus each has options for 8GB or 16GB of 1866MHz LPDDR3 RAM.

Each has two USB-A 3.0 ports, as well as one USB-C port, an SD card slot, a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, and, of course, the proprietary Surface connector.

As before, the keyboard contains a significant chunk of the battery life. Microsoft says the battery when the tablet is docked is good for 17 hours of video, but if you get the display on its own in tablet mode it will only last five hours.

On to availability and pricing! The pre-order period will begin on November 9, with shipping and wider availability from November 16. The base 13.5in model has an RRP of $1499, while the 15in model starts from $2499.

by pbriden via Featured Articles