Microsoft will launch the Surface Book 2 sometime in 2017, and the new variant of the laptop-tablet device will probably keep up with the upward trend of the first.
The initial Surface Book came out in October 2015 and registered a big success, with Microsoft banking in on the trending hybrid device wave. The first-gen Surface Book landed carrying Intel's Skylake chips, Windows 10 Pro and a neat Surface Pen.
Now thanks to a PC-Tablet report, we have some clues on what the new 2-in-1 from Microsoft will bring. The upcoming Surface Book 2 should roll out towards the year's end or at the beginning of next year, and a significant hardware boost is in store, alongside extra features.
Let's have a look at the notable differences we expect to see between the Surface Book 2 and the first iteration.
Design
Albeit last year's design was very reliable and the build quality borderline excellent, the new Surface Book 2 is said to come with tiny design enhancements. Specifically, we're referring to the hinge.
Microsoft uses a "Dynamic Fulcrum Hinge" in the Surface Book, allowing owners of the device to easily detach or reattach the screen from and to the keyboard.
While a large portion of users commended the hinge, there were complaints about the gap that remains between the keyboard and the screen when the notebook is closed. The Surface Book 2 might bring a revamped design of the hinge so the distance is unnoticeable.
Performance And Features
A previous report hinted that the Surface Book 2 could come out in June, but PC-Tablet now pegs the release for 2017. Either way, users' patience will get rewarded. Microsoft will use Intel's latest generation of i5 and i7 chipsets, codenamed Kaby Lake, which are said to bring a consistent spike in performance. As the Kaby Lake CPUs enter manufacturing later this year, the Windows developer could be waiting for them to be ready so it can start loading the chipsets in the new Surface Book.
The new i5 and i7 CPUs are part of the family of new 14-nanometer processors, which means drastic enhancements to CPU power, as well as GPU performance. Kaby Lake processors are quad-core CPUs that play nice with the native USB Type-C connectivity. Thunderbolt 3 is also expected to equip the new 2-in-1 gadget.
Microsoft deployed a 2,000 x 3,000 resolution in the first version of its tablet-notebook, so a 4K resolution display on the new model seems logical. One downside to having such a high-end screen is that the cost can skyrocket. Should the company decide to go all-in on the powerful specs, the Kaby Lake processors will be able to easily handle the graphic processing load.
Battery Life
There is a big chance we're going to see a beefier power source in the Surface Book 2 compared with its original model. As a reminder, the Surface Book was able to run a mere four hours on the tablet mode and eight hours when docked. A number of users grumbled at the high usage cycle, both on the tablet and the laptop. What is the point of having a convertible laptop if the lifespan of the battery denies the tablet-specific uses? Until we gather more info, though, it remains to be seen what solution Microsoft is cooking up.
Are you considering an upgrade to the Surface Book 2 once it launches? Let us know in the comment section below.
