Surface Book
Bluetooth 4.2, two USB 3.0 ports, Mini DisplayPort | |
Dimensions | As a tablet: 12.3 by 8.67 by 0.3 inches (31.24 cm × 22.02 cm × 0.76 cm) As a laptop: 12.3 by 9.14 by 0.9 inches (31.2 cm × 23.2 cm × 2.3 cm) |
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Mass | As a tablet: 1.6 pounds (0.73 kg) As a laptop: 3.34 pounds (1.51 kg) As a laptop with Performance Base: 3.68 pounds (1.67 kg) |
Successor | Surface Book 2 |
Website | Surface.com |
Microsoft Surface |
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The Surface Book is a
History
Surface Book was announced at the Windows 10 Devices Event by Microsoft on October 6, 2015, alongside the Surface Pro 4, and went on sale shortly thereafter.[7] At the announcement, Panos Panay, corporate vice president for Surface Computing at Microsoft, initially presented the device as a laptop and positioned it as a competitor to the MacBook Pro, before revealing that it was a hybrid device, with a screen that could be detached and used with just the Surface Pen.[8][9]
In October 2016, Microsoft announced an updated Surface Book with a new Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M GPU and additional battery life over the original model.
In May 2017, Microsoft revealed the successor to the Surface Book, the Surface Book 2,[10] which was itself replaced by the Surface Book 3 in 2020.[11]
Features
Design
The Surface Book's design was influenced by a goal to design a
The Surface Book's use cases are reflected by several design decisions, such as referring to the tablet portion as being a clipboard. Additionally, while the device as a whole is rated as having 12 hours of battery life, this capacity is divided between two separate batteries within the clipboard and keyboard portions: the clipboard has a 4-hour battery, while the base has 8-hour.[8][9] The Surface Book's keyboard is considered a standard component of the device, and is bundled with all models.[14]
The device consists of a tablet portion with a 13.5 inches (34 cm), 3000×2000 resolution display,[1] and a keyboard attachment.[8] That allows it to function similarly to a traditional laptop. Both components are constructed from machined magnesium.[14][15] The Surface Book's keyboard utilizes a dynamic fulcrum hinge, which compresses when closed, and expands outwards when opened. The hinge design allows the tablet portion to be held up at an angle resembling a traditional laptop screen without the use of a kickstand, a supporting part found in Surface-series devices, and increases the physical room between the keyboard and the tablet.[13][16]
Hardware
Surface Book is the first Surface-family 2-in-1 to be shipped with a keyboard. Contrary to a Type Cover optional keyboard accessory of other Surface tablets, Surface Book's keyboard is a thick and sturdy part, capable of folding back behind the display. It contains two
The 2-in-1's display features the same 3:2 aspect ratio and 10-point multi-touch display, found in other Surface tablets starting from Surface Pro 3, but its size and resolution are significantly increased at 13.5 inches (34 cm) and 3000×2000 (267 PPI) respectively.[14]
Surface Book models are built with a 6th generation Skylake Intel Core i5 or i7 processors. The top CPU option, i7-6600U, has a clock rate of 2.6 GHz, with up to 3.4 GHz in Turbo Boost mode.[3] There is no TPM chip.
There is an
Two system memory options available are: 8 or 16 GB and four SSD options: 128, 256, 512 GB, or 1 TB, but the higher SSD option is not available in some countries.[14]
The front camera contains an infrared sensor that supports logging in with
Surface Book Configuration Options [20][21] | |||||
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Price Tier (USD) | Size | CPU | GPU | RAM | Internal Storage |
1,499 | 13.5" | Intel Core i5-6300U | Intel HD Graphics 520 | 8 GB | 128 GB |
1,699 | 256 GB | ||||
2,099 | 512 GB | ||||
2,499 | Intel Core i7-6600U | 16 GB | |||
1,899 | Intel Core i5-6300U | Nvidia GeForce 940M 1 GB | 8 GB | 256 GB | |
2,099 | Intel Core i7-6600U | ||||
2,699 | 16 GB | 512 GB | |||
2,399 | Nvidia GeForce 965M 2 GB | 8 GB | 256 GB | ||
2,799 | 16 GB | 512 GB | |||
3,299 | 1TB |
Surface Book with Performance Base
At the Microsoft Windows 10 event on October 26, 2016, Microsoft announced a version of the Surface Book that contained an updated
Software
Surface Book models ship with a pre-installed 64-bit version of Windows 10 Pro and a 30-day trial Microsoft Office suite.[14] The system does not meet the system requirements for upgrade to Windows 11.
Accessories
A Surface Dock was announced alongside the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4, and is compatible with both devices. It is also backward compatible with the Surface Pro 3. The Surface Dock adds two Mini DisplayPorts, one Gigabit Ethernet, four USB 3.0 and one audio out port to the 2-in-1.[22]
Just like the Surface Pro devices, Surface Book includes a Surface Pen.[23] Surface Book ships with the latest version of the pen with 1024 levels of pressure. A Surface Pen Tip Kit is also available for order, which includes a set of pen tips of various diameter aimed for artists and illustrators.
Reception and issues
Critical reception
Upon release the Surface Book received critical acclaim for its design and functionality, as well as its integration of a secondary GPU into the keyboard. However, the lack of certain features, such as
Issues
The
Timeline
Timeline of Surface devices |
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Sources: Microsoft Devices Blog Microsoft Store
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References
- ^ a b c d "Here are the details of the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 chips, and why they matter". PC World. IDG. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
- ^ "ARK-Compare Intel Products".
- ^ a b "ARK-Compare Intel Products". Intel.
- ^ a b Tyson, Mark (October 19, 2015). "Microsoft Surface Book Nvidia GeForce GPU details emerge". Hexus.net. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
- ^ a b Smith, Chris (October 22, 2015). "The tiny Surface Book design secrets Microsoft didn't talk about". BGR.com. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
- ^ a b Goldman, Joshua (October 26, 2016). "Surface Book i7 adds speed and battery life to Microsoft's 2-in-1 laptop (hands-on)". CNET. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
- ^ "Windows 10 devices event". Microsoft.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Inside the creation of the Microsoft Surface Book". Mashable. October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Rhodes, Margaret. "The Story Behind the Surface Book's Crazy New Hinge". Wired. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ Book 2, Surface Book. "Introducing the Surface Book 2". Microsoft. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Panay, Panos; Seiler, Robin (May 6, 2020). "Introducing Surface Go 2, Surface Book 3, Surface Headphones 2 and Surface Earbuds". blogs.windows.com. Microsoft. Archived from the original on May 8, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob (October 19, 2015). "This is how Surface Book's crazy hinge works". TheVerge.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ a b "This is how Surface Book's crazy hinge works". The Verge. Vox Media. October 6, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Surface Book". Microsoft.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ "Microsoft announces Surface Book laptop with 13.5-inch display starting at $1,499". October 6, 2015. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
- ^ "Microsoft has warmed my cold cynical heart with hot new hardware". The Verge. Vox Media. October 6, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
- ^ Barton, Seth (October 6, 2015). "Surface Book - Microsoft just broke the laptop". ExpertReviews.co.uk. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ Gilbert, Ben (October 6, 2015). "There's finally a laptop that's good enough for gamers". TechInsider.io. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
- ^ a b Bright, Peter (November 1, 2015). "Windows Hello facial logins on the new Surfaces are rather impressive". Ars Technika. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ "Microsoft Surface Book Specs - Full Technical Specifications". January 24, 2016.
- ^ "All about the Surface Book with Performance Base". Windows Central. November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
- ^ "Surface Dock". Microsoft.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ "Microsoft Surface Pen". Microsoft.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ Osborne, Joe (October 7, 2015). "Hands on: Microsoft Surface Book review". TechRadar.com. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
- ^ "New Surface Book owners complain of unexpected freezes, other bugs".
- ^ Howse, Brett (October 25, 2015). "Hello Windows Hello: Firmware Update Adds Biometric Login To Surface Pro 4 And Surface Book". AnandTech. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ "Microsoft Surface Book Repair". Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- ^ Leonhard, Woody (November 19, 2015). "Surface Book, Surface Pro 4 firmware update breaks cameras, locks screens". InfoWorld. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ Martindale, Jon (May 10, 2016). "Microsoft pushes Windows Hello with latest Surface driver updates". Digital Trends. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ "Surface Pro 4, Surface Book 'sleep' fix coming soon (early 2016)". WinBeta. December 4, 2015. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ Howse, Brett. "Microsoft Patches Surface Book And Surface Pro 4 Sleep Issue". www.anandtech.com. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
- ^ "Microsoft owns up to issues with the Surface Book and Pro 4". Engadget. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
External links
- Official website
- The New Microsoft Surface Book on YouTube