- [Michael] For the past two years,
the Surface Book from Microsoft
has been my most coveted notebook computer,
the device I would switch to in an instant
if I wasn't so dependent on a MacBook Pro for video editing.
Well, not anymore.
My new favorite non-MacBook to drool over
is the Surface Book 2,
and it's a much bigger upgrade than it might first appear.
I'm Mister Mobile, and these are my first impressions
from a two-hour hands-on.
(upbeat music)
The biggest change is in choice.
The Surface Book 2 is available in two sizes,
a 13 1/2-inch model like the current one
and a new 15-inch trim.
The Surface Book has never been a small computer
thanks to its tall 3:2 display
and the special fulcrum hinge,
and the 15-incher feels truly mammoth as a result.
While the hinge might look the same on the outside,
it's been stiffened internally
to accommodate the added mass of the larger clipboard,
so you shouldn't get any more wobble
than with the current Surface Book
when you're using it as a touchscreen.
Microsoft says it's reduced the time it takes
to eject the clipboard too but to me,
the difference was negligible.
The net result is a Surface Book that, in both sizes,
sticks firmly to its roots.
The clipboard itself is a self-contained PC
with a display that can register over 4,000 levels
of pressure sensitivity,
so you can use it with the Surface Pen.
It runs Windows 10 Pro out of the box.
On the 15-inch, that's powered
by an eight generation Intel Core i7.
And if you step it down to the smaller model,
you've got the option of sticking with that same silicon
or saving some dough
with a seventh generation Core i5.
Drop the clipboard into the keyboard dock
and on the higher end models,
you get an upgraded graphics processor
with between two and six gigs of dedicated memory.
That'll help when you're running
3D-heavy programs, video editors, and games.
You also get a backlit keyboard
with key travel only slightly shallower than last year,
and you get access to a whole bucket full of batteries,
approximately 80 watt-hours combined in the big one
and 70 watt-hours in the junior Book.
Microsoft says you should be able to squeeze five hours
out of each in tablet mode and 17 hours when docked.
Between you and me, that seems outrageously optimistic
probably because it's a result of a looping video test
but we'll have to wait for the full review
to see if it pans out.
Speaking of, subscribe to the Mister Mobile on YouTube
so you don't miss it.
That's a ton of power under the hood
but my favorite features are visible right on the surface.
See, unlike Apple, Microsoft isn't interested
in courageously pushing the envelope
by stripping its laptops of ports
that professionals still use,
so both new Surface Books come
with two full-sized USB-A plugs, an SD card reader,
and a new USB-C port
that works for both data transfer and charging.
To get the same options
out of my brand new $4,000 MacBook Pro,
I needed to buy a fistful of inconvenient adapters.
While Microsoft did have to ditch the display port
to make room for USB-C,
I think the trade-off is well worth it.
Are there decisions here that might give people pause?
Yes.
As beautiful as this design is,
it's basically unchanged from the very first Surface Book,
so some might find the aesthetics a bit stale.
Also, between 3 1/2 and 4 1/4 pounds,
these are not small machines.
And with prices starting at 1,499 and 2,499
for junior and jumbo sizes respectively,
they're not exactly competitively priced either
when you take other Windows notebooks into account.
But the Surface Book was never meant to compete
with lower cost laptops,
it was built to take on the MacBook Pro,
and that's not blogger hyperbole either.
Microsoft name-dropped the MacBook a lot at the launch event
calling the Surface Book twice as powerful
and reminding us all that it could be used as a laptop,
a tablet, or a hybrid.
Now add to that what I mentioned before,
how frustrated some professionals are
with Apple's insistence on forcing us into a USB-C future
that our cameras and peripherals just aren't ready for yet,
and then consider that the Surface Book
starts at about the same price as a MacBook Pro.
Even if you're like me,
so reliant on Apple's software
that moving over just isn't an option right now,
you've got to admit, it's tempting.
The Surface Book 2 is available for preorder November nine
with a launch date of November 16 in the US.
Mister Mobile's full review
will hopefully be up around then
covering all the little stuff from speakers to lapability
that didn't make it into this quick look.
In the meantime, let me know what you think.
Do you own an earlier Surface Book,
or are you maybe an Apple user
on the brink of making the jump?
Drop a line in the comments, let me know, and subscribe
to the Mister Mobile on YouTube
so you don't miss that full review.
Until next time, thanks for watching
and stay mobile, my friends.