The exterior design hasn't changed, but the internals of the new Surface Book 2 are getting a major upgrade.
Microsoft's Surface team decided to take advantage of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update release day to reveal its most powerful device yet: the new Surface Book 2.
Available in 13.5 and 15-inch versions, the new flagship convertibles will feature 8th generation Intel Core i7 processors and NVidia GTX 1050 or 1060 discrete GPUs on all but the entry level model.
The new Surface Book will be available for pre-sale November 9 and available in Microsoft Stores November 16.
Pricing, according to ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley:
Surface Book 2 (13.5 inch)
• 7th Generation Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB, integrated GPU - $1,499 USD ERP
• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB, discrete-GPU - $1,999 USD ERP
• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 512GB, discrete-GPU - $2,499 USD ERP
• 8th Generation Intel Core, i7, 16 GB RAM, 1TB, discrete-GPU - $2,999 USD ERP
Surface Book 2 (15-inch)
• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB, dGPU - $2,499 USD ERP
• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 512GB, dGPU - $2,899 USD ERP
• 8th Generation Intel Core i7, 16 GB RAM, 1TB, dGPU - $ 3,299 USD ERP
UPDATE: Microsoft posted a configuration page that corrects some of the information shown above. The entry level 15-inch model also includes 16 GB RAM. All of these models sport NVidia 1060 dGPUs. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/devices/surface-book-2/overview#surfaceconfiguration
The company is promising big battery performance gains, with up to 17 hours of video playback. Clipboard (the detached display) battery life doesn't appear to have improved much with 5 hours of video playback.
The Surface Book 2 is also the first Microsoft device to offer USB Type C port in addition to USB A and a full-size SD card reader. Unfortunately, the Surface Book 2 will not support Thunderbolt 3. The reason for this is explained in this comment on Ars Tecnica: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/10/surface-book-2-more-cores-more-gpu-and-more-screen-size/?comments=1&post=34165943
As a screen real estate junkie, I'm really excited to check out the standalone 15-inch Clipboard. Will it be too big or just right? Once again, prices are in nosebleed territory, so the most I can see spending is $2500 for the 16GB/256GB model. With only integrated graphics, make sure to stay away from the entry level i5 model.
Have a look at the release video below and tell us what you think in the comments section.
Powerhouse performance. The new Surface Book 2 features up to 17 hours of battery life and the most powerful graphics performance ever from a Surface laptop. Learn more at http://bit.ly/2ihlD1q
