Microsoft Surface Book 2 (15-inch) Review

CPUIntel Core i7-8650U CPU
Operating SystemWindows 10 Pro
RAM16GB
RAM Upgradable to
Hard Drive Size1 TB
Hard Drive Speed
Hard Drive TypePCIe SSD
Secondary Hard Drive Size
Secondary Hard Drive Speed
Secondary Hard Drive Type
Display Size15
Highest Available Resolution3240 x 2160
Native Resolution3240 x 2160
Optical Drive
Optical Drive Speed
Graphics CardNvidia GeForce GTX 1060 / 6GB
Video Memory6GB
Wi-Fi802.11 a/g/n
Wi-Fi ModelIEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
BluetoothBluetooth 4.1
Mobile Broadband
Touchpad Size4.1 x 2.7 inches
Ports (excluding USB)USB Type-C
Ports (excluding USB)Headphone/Mic
Ports (excluding USB)Surface Connect
Ports (excluding USB)USB 3.1
USB Ports3
Card SlotsSD memory reader
Warranty/Support1-year warranty
Size13.5 x 9.87 x 0.90 inches
Weight4.18 pounds
Company Websitemicrosoft.com

Design

The biggest aesthetic change Microsoft made with the Surface Book 2 was making it larger. The 15-inch model is the new flagship, with a larger screen and base. (If you prefer the 13.5-inch size, don't worry; that's still available. See Configurations, below.)
 
The magnesium lid is still a matte gray, with the Windows logo in reflective silver. It continues Microsoft's plain-but-modern look that emphasizes the screen over all else. Lifting the lid reveals the 3240 x 2160 display with a 3:2 aspect ratio, as well as the base, which includes the removable base with keyboard. The keyboard dock features the same gentle slopes as the previous Surface Book with performance base, and has a few vents near the hinge, which is especially important now that this thing is packing a GTX 1060 GPU.
The design is still a little awkward because of the fulcrum hinge. Microsoft says it's stronger than those on previous models, though I did find that it would wobble a bit when I used the Surface Book 2 on my lap. And, as on the original Surface Book before it, the Surface Book 2's hinge doesn't allow it to close completely flush. Porsche Design managed to pull off similar functionality without any extra space, and I wish Microsoft would have updated its own machine for a cleaner look.
At 4.2 pounds and 13.5 x 9.9 x 0.9 inches, the Surface Book 2 is significantly larger than competing laptops in length and height. The Dell XPS 15 is 4.6 pounds and 14.1 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches, the Lenovo Yoga 720 is also 4.6 pounds and 14.3 x 9.5 x 0.8 inches, and Apple's 15-inch MacBook Pro is 4 pounds and 3.8 x 9.5 x 0.6 inches. However, the Surface Book 2 is unique in that it's a detachable.

Ports

The Surface Book 2 largely maintains the same ports from the original, 2015 Surface Book, with one noticeable exception: USB Type-C. Microsoft had previously left the new connector off all its previous devices, including the Surface Laptop.
It's unfortunate, however, that the company didn't make it a Thunderbolt 3 port; Thunderbolt 3 can connect to any USB-C device but also allows you to use high-speed peripherals such as external GPUs and power-dual 4K displays. All MacBook Pros have Thunderbolt 3, because the creative professionals Apple and Microsoft are targeting need that kind of connectivity
On the Surface Book, the USB-C port joins the proprietary Surface Connect charging port on the right side of the base. The left side features a pair of USB 3.1 ports and an SD card slot. The headphone jack is awkwardly placed on the tablet, which means wires will hang a bit while you're using it as a laptop. It's a necessary trade-off, though, to use the headphone with the tablet. The tablet portion has its own Surface Connect port, so you can charge it independently.

Display

The Surface Book 2's 3240 x 2160 display is bright and vivid, so it's perfect for drawing, video editing or just kicking back and watching five or six too many YouTube videos. When I watched the 4K movie Tears of Steel, green ivy leaves popped on a gray column, and I could see the folds around the plants' veins. Pink and green holograms were vivid on a backdrop of silver consoles and black walls.
Microsoft's screen covers an excellent 131 percent of the sRGB color gamut, which is more vivid than the mainstream average (102 percent), the Lenovo Yoga 720 (114 percent) and the MacBook Pro (126 percent). The Dell XPS 15 showed off more impressive hues at an incredible 188 percent.
The Surface Book 2's display is bright. I mean really, really bright. It measured an average of 417 nits on our light meter, outclassing the average (256 nits), the XPS 15 (282 nits) and the Yoga 720 (272 nits). But the MacBook Pro (460 nits) is even more blazingly luminous.
The 3:2 aspect ratio is great in most settings. You get more room to view web pages, edit text and video or draw. The only time I had a problem with the shape was when playing a game (see Gaming, Graphics and VR, below). Because games tend not to letterbox, they had to adapt to the new screen size, which means that they included too much vertical space, or were squished to fit. If you're gaming, you're best off changing the display resolution to 1920 x 1080p, which will play games in a proper format.

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