Microsoft has announced the Surface Book 2 its latest and greatest in the Surface Book series which debuted two years ago back in 2015. It comes in two different variants; one with a 15-inch display and another with a 13.5-inch display. The Surface Book 2 is powered by the Intel 8th gen Core processors and is Windows Mixed Reality ready.
The Surface Book 2 sports a 15-inch display (3240 x 2160 resolution) which accounts to a pixel density of 260 PPI. It is powered by the Intel eighth generation core i7 processor 8650U clocked up to 4.2GHz with Turbo Boost and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB graphics option. Microsoft claims that it is twice as fast as the latest MacBook Pro. It has 16GB of RAM with either 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB SSD storage options.
It promises up to 17-hours of battery life on a single charge and five hours for tablet video consumption. Connectivity options are Bluetooth 4.1, 2 USB-A, 1 USB-C, Surface connect, SD card slot, headphone jack with support for Dolby Atmos.
There is a 5MP front camera, and an 8MP rear camera and the keyboard is backlit. The Surface Book 2 15″ measures 13.5 x 9.87 x 0.9 inches and weighs 1.9kg and 0.82kg in tablet mode.
On the other hand, the 13″ model packs a 13.5-inch display (3000 x 2000 resolution) and powered by the 7th gen Intel i5 processor with 8GB RAM for the base model and i7 processor for the high-end model with 16GB RAM with256GB, 512GB, or 1TB SSD as storage options. The high-end 13″ model packs the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 2GB graphics memory. It measures at 12.3 x 9.14 x 0.9 inches and weighs at 1.6kg. Connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.1, 2 USB-A, 1 USB-C, Surface connect, SD card slot, headphone jack with support for Dolby Atmos.
Microsoft says that the Surface Book 2 will be the flagship product for Windows 10 fall update with an emphasis on Windows Mixed Reality which is Microsoft’s VR and AR technology. The company says that Office team worked closely with the Surface team to optimize office to work seamlessly. It retains the S pen feature from the original Surface Book and also has the Surface Dial on-screen support.
The new Surface Book 2 can play games at 60fps and with built-in Xbox support on the 15″ it allows you to pair the Xbox One controllers and compatible headsets to play without needing extra dongles.
The Surface Book 2 both in 13″ and 15″ models will be available for pre-order on November 9th in the United States at local Microsoft Store, and Microsoft.com and deliveries will start from 16th December. The 13″ model starts at $1,499 (Rs. 97,445 approx.) for the Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB, integrated GPU version, and the 15″ model will retail at a starting price of $2,499 (Rs. 1,62,451 approx.) for the Intel Core i7, 8GB RAM, 256GB, dedicated GPU version.