Microsoft Announces Surface Book

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It's a laptop! It's a Surface! "It's a Surface Book!"

"We made the ultimate laptop; we made Surface Book." That's right, it's Microsoft's first in-house laptop -- with a 227 DPI 13.5-inch display, a 6th generation Intel Core processor and a 12-hour battery life. Microsoft is calling it the "ultimate" laptop ...but just like every other Surface in the product line, it's still a detachable, convertible PC.
 
It's about damn time. I've been asking for an ASUS Transformer like Surface for a long time. The extra space in the keyboard can be utilized to expand the battery life tremendously. That's why the TF101 was so useful for my long road trips back when I was playing competitive hockey (8hr bus rides).
 
Just pre-ordered one, i7/dGPU/16 GB/512 GB. There is not 1 TB model listed like the SP4 unfortunately. Pricy, the config I order is $2699. But if it's as good as looks and performs like I hope, not bad for what it is. Again, I think Microsoft is treading lightly with it's OEMs and wanting to hit a premium pricing spot with it's machines.
 
So.. I mean that looks dead on like a macbook pro retina 13". I mean the similarities are uncanny. They made the keys are grey instead of black, but that touch pad, the lip for you to open the lid. The entire body style.

Quick glance I would struggle to tell the difference other than the grey keys. Sure I can find little nuances with the hinge area being very different, and obviously this is a convertible, but somebody inside microsoft had to say "make it look like a macbook, but change a little so we don't get sued".
 
Too top heavy, these convertibles are just clumsy.
 
Cool. Definitely a nice improvement over the floppy keyboard Surface Pro line.

Though I still prefer the Lenovo Yoga form factor for a big convertible. That way it the weight is all in the base like a traditional laptop.
 
Tablet with a dedicated GPU...this is what I've been waiting ages for...well worth the price premium if it delivers, and I truly believe it will. I'm thinking the $1,899.00 model, with the i5-dGPU-8gb RAM-256gb storage will be the sweet spot. I'm going to wait though, and see the exact model of dGPU offered, and if it varies between the price points. If the i7-dGPU-16gb RAM-512gb storage one has a better GPU, then my wallet will be about $3000 lighter in the coming months.
 
I thought that was apple video. Looks good though. I'll get the 2nd version.
 
So.. I mean that looks dead on like a macbook pro retina 13". I mean the similarities are uncanny. They made the keys are grey instead of black, but that touch pad, the lip for you to open the lid. The entire body style.

I've made this same assertion at other publications and got harangued, can't help but agree.
 
Is this a real i7, or is it a bullshit U/M dual-core mobile i7?
 
I know the Surface Book flaptop was shown playing Gears of War, but I couldn't imagine doing serious gaming on this thing. Then again, my 13" laptop isn't touch, convertible, or take stylus input and was over half the price.
 
Combine that with Windows 10 and it seems like Microsoft is slowly creeping away from tablets. I'm guessing they're seeing slower growth and aren't interested in investing as much moolahs into R&D in that direction because of strong/numerous competitors in a very low margin market.
 
My one complaint about the different specs is that the only 16GB option is the most expensive version. In i5 w/ 16gb would be great. or the i7 with 16gb and a 256gb ssd would be a nice option.
 
Combine that with Windows 10 and it seems like Microsoft is slowly creeping away from tablets.

Considering how the latest builds of Windows 10 adds back some features for tablet split view and that the Surface Book is still a hybrid computer, what?
 
Is this a real i7, or is it a bullshit U/M dual-core mobile i7?

It's U with a max TDP of 15 W. We're talking about full PCs thinner than some tablets. The tablet section of Surface Book is practically the same weight as the iPad Pro.
 
I've made this same assertion at other publications and got harangued, can't help but agree.

Sure the Surface Book looks similar a MacBook. Not exactly sure how it look significantly different being a large piece of glass on a hinge with a metal chassis. Less round edges? Different colors? Beyond the looks completely different devices.
 
skylake chip, glass touchpad (apple...), grey body, etc, screams MacBook pro to me.

then again, for the price you get two devices: a laptop and a surface as the thing undocks, that's pretty cool.
 
I couldn't care less if it looked like a MBP. As long as it runs Windows, works well, and lets me get shit done - I'll buy it.
 
Is this a real i7, or is it a bullshit U/M dual-core mobile i7?

Its obliviously going to have a U dual-core mobile proc.

Please explain how its not a real i7? Intel created the i7 brand as the high-end processor, if its the fastest U/M processor it get the i7 branding.

Its not rocket science its marketing.
 
skylake chip, glass touchpad (apple...), grey body, etc, screams MacBook pro to me.

then again, for the price you get two devices: a laptop and a surface as the thing undocks, that's pretty cool.

If you squint from a distance, it looks like one.

Skylake chip is nothing original to Apple. It's just the latest Intel chip.

Every manufacturer has a grey/silver body.

Glass touchpad, Honestly, don't know if other brands use them, but a touchpad looks like a touchpad to me.

Looking at it from the side, nothing like a MacBook. The vent slots on the tablet portion are a big departure from the style of a MacBook. The hinge looks nothing like a MacBook. The ports

So, the keyboard looks different. There are obviously more ports visible. It has a larger screen. The hinge looks very different. The vented screen looks much different. It looks entirely different when closed. But other than that, It's the spitting image of a MacBook. :rolleyes:
 
...waiting for the ifixit teardown to see how well it's really designed.
I'm not getting the feels about that hinge...
 
So.. I mean that looks dead on like a macbook pro retina 13". I mean the similarities are uncanny. They made the keys are grey instead of black, but that touch pad, the lip for you to open the lid. The entire body style.

You Apple fanboys are unrelenting.

Looks nothing like a Mac Book.

surface_book.jpg
 
I'm pretty much in love with my 13" rMBP...but this makes me want to get rid of it...I'll pick one up to play with when it's out.
 
Too top heavy, these convertibles are just clumsy.

Cool. Definitely a nice improvement over the floppy keyboard Surface Pro line.
Though I still prefer the Lenovo Yoga form factor for a big convertible. That way it the weight is all in the base like a traditional laptop.
Keep in mind that because the keyboard area has its own battery, the imbalance will not be nearly as bad.
That said, my Yoga Pro 2 is, imho, the best of the convertibles. Core i7 in a body that thin without the crappy M cpus and a very good keyboard. It may not have the dedicated GPU, of course, but the price is much better. I also have a Surface 3, so the Surface Book is VERY tempting if my current gear wasn't so new(ish) and nearly as fast, albeit in two different systems.
 
You Apple fanboys are unrelenting.

Looks nothing like a Mac Book.

Heh... It would probably be better if they actually put the logo on the correct way.

I wouldn't argue that at least the bottom half is mostly a clone. On their video the top down shot of the keyboard is very similar to the older MBPs. The screen portion has a lot of differences since it has hardware inside of it.
 
I've shifted from windows in my home to OSX so not for me. The hardware has potential, yes, and this will hopefully drive PC sales again.
 
with dGPU starts at $1899? wow! I might have to think about it first and wait for review.
 
Its obliviously going to have a U dual-core mobile proc.

Please explain how its not a real i7? Intel created the i7 brand as the high-end processor, if its the fastest U/M processor it get the i7 branding.

Its not rocket science its marketing.

You're right; I'm an idiot. The i7-6560U or i7-6500U are definitely worthy of holding the i7 tag over an i5-6360U.

I understand that TDP is an added complexity with branding of mobile processors, but Intel does a piss poor job of it in my opinion. It's pure deception... opps, I mean marketing.
 
Keep in mind that because the keyboard area has its own battery, the imbalance will not be nearly as bad.
That said, my Yoga Pro 2 is, imho, the best of the convertibles. Core i7 in a body that thin without the crappy M cpus and a very good keyboard. It may not have the dedicated GPU, of course, but the price is much better. I also have a Surface 3, so the Surface Book is VERY tempting if my current gear wasn't so new(ish) and nearly as fast, albeit in two different systems.

Yeah, I didn't realize most of the batteries were in the base until after I posted that. So balance may be pretty good.

Though I would never drop $1500 on a laptop anyway.
 
I liked CreepyUncleGoogle's post.

I took it as a parody of other posts prematurely proclaiming the death of the desktop and laptop based on assumed trends in the market, in Windows, and declining numbers in favor of the convertible, 2-in-1, or hybrid device. Particularly because iPad Pro therefore Apple is going the way of Windows 8/8.1 Update/10 and copying the Surface.

Also, Windows 10 is less tablet-y than Windows 8 and the Surface Book is less tablet-y than the Surface. Tablet sales have slowed. CreepyUncleGoogle does have points. (except I haven't seen a Macbook with volume buttons on the top, a camera on the back, a stylus --yet-- but where's the Windows button)
 
I wonder why the guy in the picture looks SO enthusiastic to be presenting this new piece of technology :p


Resting Bitch Face? :p
 
Also, Windows 10 is less tablet-y than Windows 8 and the Surface Book is less tablet-y than the Surface. Tablet sales have slowed. CreepyUncleGoogle does have points. (except I haven't seen a Macbook with volume buttons on the top, a camera on the back, a stylus --yet-- but where's the Windows button)

Windows 10 less "tablet-y" than 8.1? Not really. 10 is no harder to use as on tablet than 8.x but the tablet and desktop were better integrated and some of the "tablet-y" changed. Some things were left out from 8.1 but some of that is being added back in and showing up in the latest builds. The Surface Book is just another version of the folding keyboard hybrid design that's been around forever, long before the iPad and Android tablets. But the Surface Book clearly is a hybrid of the "laptop first and tablet second" variety. But this isn't a laptop it's a hybrid meant to be used as a tablet at least some of the time. You don't go to all of this effort with that hinge or dual CPU and splitting out the compute components simply for a laptop.

Yes tablet sales have slowed. The 2 in 1 category has been growing though. That's why the emphasis from multiple companies on these devices. That plus they draw top dollar.
 
Zarathustra[H];1041895480 said:
I wonder why the guy in the picture looks SO enthusiastic to be presenting this new piece of technology :p


Resting Bitch Face? :p

LOL
Panay is a great presenter, but for some reason, his enthusiasm DIES in photos. Watch some of the video if you can. It's hilarious.
 
skylake chip, glass touchpad (apple...), grey body, etc, screams MacBook pro to me.

then again, for the price you get two devices: a laptop and a surface as the thing undocks, that's pretty cool.

Yup since they're going after the MacBook Pro buyer. Can't wait to get one at work for testing.
 
Yup since they're going after the MacBook Pro buyer. Can't wait to get one at work for testing.

They're no doubt trying to appeal to that market. But this is a hybrid device first and that's the core market for this.
 
Is this a real i7, or is it a bullshit U/M dual-core mobile i7?
The designation of Skylake quad core mobile processors is "xQ" (like HQ or EQ) or "xK" (unlocked HK model).

This Surface Book can be configured with various processors, but all are 15W models. Candidates:

Intel® Core™ i5-6200U Processor (3M Cache, up to 2.80 GHz)

Intel® Core™ i5-6260U Processor (4M Cache, up to 2.90 GHz)

Intel® Core™ i5-6300U Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.00 GHz)

Intel® Core™ i5-6360U Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.10 GHz)

Intel® Core™ i7-6500U Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.10 GHz)

Intel® Core™ i7-6560U Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.20 GHz)

Intel® Core™ i7-6600U Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.40 GHz)

Intel® Core™ i7-6650U Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.40 GHz)

Given its weight class and battery life, it's not a platform for a 35W/45W quad core processor. You may want to keep a look out for a future unlaunched 25W quad core: http://ark.intel.com/products/90617/Intel-Core-i5-6442EQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-2_70-GHz
 
^ candidates are not actual options available. MS hasn't announced which model CPUs will be used, only that the CPU is 15W and dual core i5 and i7 models. MS will use 3 models from that list for i5 and i7 options.
 
I saw this on Ars:

The one sour point is the price. The Surface Book starts at $1,499 for a Core i5, 8GB RAM, and a 128GB PCIe SSD. But there's a catch: that system doesn't include a discrete GPU. The cheapest Surface Book with the discrete GPU is $1,899. That's still a Core i5 with 8GB, though it also ups the storage to 256GB. The top spec is a Core i7 with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD, and that costs an eye-watering $2,699.

lol @ MS copying Apple's prices on storage and RAM. Dual core laptop, $2700.
 
At first glance it looks more like a Google Pixel to me than a MacBook. And yes it's about time Microsoft got around to doing this so I give them mad props once again for being able to keep something totally and absolutely under wraps until the moment it's shown on stage - they did that with the introduction of the original Surface tablet years ago and once again they were able to do it today with the Surface Book. Nobody had a clue about it, never saw even a rumor about Microsoft pushing out a laptop - it's still a convertible but, considering the design and everything else, it's nice to know that people are loyal in such degrees to Microsoft that nobody had a freakin' clue about this existing.

Good job, Microsoft.

Now, about Windows 10... ;)
 
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