Microsoft Surface Book 2 With Eighth Generation Intel Core Processors Launched: Price, Specifications

Alongside making the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update available to the general public on Wednesday, Microsoft also announced the Surface Book 2, the successor to the Surface Book it had launched two years ago. The Surface Book 2, which doubles as a tablet, packs in Intel's eighth generation Core i7 processors (there are variants with seventh-generation Core i5 processor as well) and is the "most powerful" Surface device yet, the company said.

The Surface Book 2 is a result of Microsoft managing to integrate the silicon (hardware) with the software in a more cohesive way, the company said. It is "powerful enough" to fuel the next wave of computing, the company claims. Whether you want to dapple with mixed reality, or with artificial intelligence, or play immersive games, the Surface Book 2 will be able to handle that. It is a hybrid laptop that "empowers the designers, developers, artists, and scientists to imagine and build without limits and without compromises. To achieve more," the company writes.

As for the specifications, the Surface Book 2 comes in two sizes: one with a 13.5-inch display, the other with a 15-inch screen. In total, there are seven different variants of the Surface Book 2, offering different processor, RAM and screen sizes. The configurations are: 13.5-inch, 256GB SSD, and Intel Core i5 processor; 13.5-inch, 256GB, Intel Core i7; 13.5-inch, 512GB SSD, Intel Core i7; 13.5-inch display, 1TB SSD, Intel Core i7; 15.inch display, 256GB SSD, Intel Core i7; 15.inch display, 512GB SSD, and Intel Core i7; and 15-inch display, 1TB SSD, and Intel Core i7.

The 13.5-inch PixelSense Display has a screen resolution of 3000 x 2000 pixels (267PPI) with an aspect ratio of 3:2. The 15-inch PixelSense Display has a screen resolution of 3240 x 2160 pixels with aspect ratio of 3:2. The company is claiming 17-hours of battery life (on continuous video playback). The company says it has also improved the Surface Pen.

On the processor side, the models with eight generation Intel Core i7-8650U processors have quad-core and are clocked up to 4.20GHz on Max Turbo. The models with seventh generation Intel Core i5 Core i5-7300U processor are clocked up to 3.50GHz. As for graphics, the 13.5-inch models come with Intel HD Graphics 620 integrated GPU, Intel UHD Graphics 620 integrated GPU, or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 discrete GPU w/2GB VRAM across their available SKUs. The 15-inch models have Intel UHD Graphics 620 integrated GPU or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 discrete GPU w/6GB VRAM.

All the variants support Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth BT4.1 LE, Xbox Wireless built-in (in 15-inch models). The Surface Book 2 have two USB 3.0 Type A ports, and one USB Type-C port. There is a UHS-II SDXC card reader, one 3.5mm headphone jack, 2 Surface Connect, a 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video, and a 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p Full HD video, dual microphones, and front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby Audio Premium.

The Surface Book comes in magnesium casing, and in silver colour option. The base 13-inch model starts at $1,499, and $2,499 for the 15-inch. Preorders of it in the United States will start on November 9, with shipping starting November 16. There is no word on India availability yet.