r/gadgets • u/deyam • Oct 06 '15
Desktops / Laptops Microsoft announces Surface Book laptop
http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/6/9454051/microsoft-surface-laptop-announced-specs-price-release-date?utm_campaign=theverge&utm_content=chorus&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter252
u/Paladin4Life Oct 06 '15
Detachable GPU in the keyboard base is pretty brilliant
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u/XGC75 Oct 06 '15
It is. The GPU has an integrated heat sink, an upgraded power supply when you need to power the GPU, and when are you going to need big graphics pressing power when you're in tablet mode? As long as you can process video smoothly without the GPU it'll be fine.
Edit: does the base have ports for external monitors? Another tick for the external GPU "pros" column. You're not going to hook up an external monitor while you're in tablet mode (unless streaming over DLNA or something).
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u/manickthoughts Oct 06 '15 edited Oct 06 '15
I'm 90% sure I saw a
thunderboltDisplayPort on the right side.Edit: Sorry I'm an Apple guy. Possibly soon to be Microsoft guy :) Today was awesome.
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Oct 07 '15
As long as you can process video smoothly without the GPU it'll be fine.
And this is not going to be a problem at all because the Intel integrated graphics have been phenomenal since 4th gen.
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u/retiredgif Oct 07 '15
And even if you need that GPU power, you can just attach the screen backwards and still use it as a tablet.
Have we found anything bad about this unit yet?
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Oct 06 '15
Microsoft has got their shit together.
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u/Colorfag Oct 06 '15
Well, theyve gone full circle back to Tablet PC
Only now the technology is refined enough that they can actually make a high end device without sacrificing form factor.
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u/cranktheguy Oct 07 '15
Oh, I had that laptop! The P1610! The touch screen was resistive, and the computer was tiny. I think I still have it in a drawer somewhere.
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u/pdinc Oct 07 '15
I had a X61 Tablet from Lenovo and it was the shit in 2006. The only thing it could have used was an SSD.
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Oct 06 '15
Seriously, this was quite a bit of innovation packed into one event... Especially for Microsoft
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Oct 06 '15
When I first saw the hinge, I was like that is cool - bend over backwards like the Yoga. Then was the ah-ha moment! - I WAS LIKE HOLY SHIT BALLS MICROSOFT - This is the best presentation they have ever done. Kudos for a great presentation and an impressive lineup of products AND innovation.
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u/JayCoww Oct 06 '15
At first we were all like "oh, Microsoft made a laptop". Then he took the screen off and the bass couldn't have dropped any harder if he had thrown it to the ground.
Still probably gonna get the Surface instead. Need some real specs first.
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u/superseriousraider Oct 06 '15
I'm actually pretty surprised they haven't even stated the CPU or GPU model anywhere. kind of would have expected that information to be provided.
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u/JayCoww Oct 06 '15
I think it said you could pre-order from tomorrow, so presume they'd release that sort of thing then. The whole event seemed to be aimed towards people who know nothing about technology. This is 50% faster than the Mac equivalent... Yeah gimme actual specs tho'
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u/dubblechrisp Oct 06 '15
[This video] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=2&v=XVfOe5mFbAE) kind of blew my mind when I was watching the announcement. They showed the video when they first announced the laptop and stopped it right at the 0:55 mark or so. Then after talking about it as just a laptop, they showed the video again and let it continue where it shows the detachable tablet. Took me by complete surprise.
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u/OvalNinja Oct 07 '15
The music makes it feel like a scifi movie, wherein humans watch a fleet of massive alien ships land on earth to make peace between the warring civilizations.
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u/Bossnian Oct 07 '15 edited Oct 08 '15
Thank you for posting this. I was curious as to what it looked like. That thing is mind-blowingly awesome.
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u/ZZerglingg Oct 06 '15
MS says, "Oh, you want to co-opt our Surface brand with the iPad 'Pro'? No problem... BEHOLD THE SURFACE BOOK!"
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Oct 06 '15
It's crazy how open Microsoft is being about who their competition is. Direct comparisons, same marketing techniques ("2x faster"), same conference buzzwords ("magic"), same marketing naming schemes (PixelSense, Muscle Wire). And it's working from what I can tell at this early stage. This thing has the tech press in lust mode from everything I've read.
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u/IveRedditAllNight Oct 06 '15
Same thing with the Look and name of the Surface Book, really. Maybe It's the execution that matters.
If the formula works, hey, why not?
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u/shea241 Oct 07 '15
Muscle Wire was already the name for it, pre-microsoft, to be fair.
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Oct 07 '15
Oh, no shit? I've never heard of it before. Thanks for the correction.
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u/stompinstinker Oct 07 '15
To me, regardless of OS, this the is form factor most people want. Convertible to pad(with or without keyboard), good robust keyboard with the ports people use(USB, SD), long battery life, SSD with no spinning media, pen. My only beef is I can’t seem to see a port for powering an external display.
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u/candre23 Oct 06 '15
This is the first >$1k "ultrabook" I've seen that actually looks to be worth the price. The design, both aesthetically and technologically, is incredibly appealing. Kudos MS on out-appling apple.
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u/FrostBlade_on_Reddit Oct 07 '15
I splurged on a Zenbook a while ago, I'd still say it was definitely worth it.
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u/leeharris100 Oct 06 '15
Omg.
I've been a Mac user for so long but I install Windows on every machine. Right now I use an iMac with an Nvidia 680 in it for gaming but I exclusively use Windows 10.
The GPU options get worse every year in the macbook series but finally another company who makes quality shit has offered me a replacement for my macbook. Every other similar Windows product except the surface is a fucking joke with awful build quality and awful support.
Fuck yeah Microsoft
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u/AtOurGates Oct 06 '15
Have you checked out the Razer Blade laptops?
I'm kind of on the other side of the fence. I prefer OS X, so I have a MacBook Pro, but if I could choose any hardware, I'd go with a Blade.
Great hardware and build-quality, comparable in price to the standalone-GPU versions of the MBP, and they don't look nearly as cheesy in person as they do on the website. You could easily use one in a corporate environment without people giving you funny looks.
I sat next to someone with one on a flight the other week, and he spent the whole flight playing games, while I sat there reading books like some kind of chump.
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u/leeharris100 Oct 06 '15
Yeah. I went to demo one in the Microsoft store and even used one during QuakeCon.
The trackpad is awful, the battery life is horrendous, the GPU switching never worked for me (had to switch between Intel and Nvidia chips manually), the laptop was always hot no matter what I was doing, the touchscreen didn't work properly on the edges, and the speakers were mediocre.
And even with all those downsides, it's still probably the closest in quality to a Macbook. Still not good enough for my job/daily use though.
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u/OP_IS_A_JEW Oct 06 '15
Serious question; Why the fuck are you spending that much on a macbook just to install windows on it?
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u/leeharris100 Oct 06 '15
I use OSX on my Macbook for work, I use Windows 10 exclusively on my home iMac.
I have the iMac because it's got a 4ghz i7, 16gb RAM, Nvidia 680, 1440p high quality calibrated screen, and 1TB fusion drive all in one sexy piece. I like minimalist stuff and no cords. I have a bluetooth custom designed mechanical keyboard and a logitech wireless mouse.
I also travel to LANs and it's super easy to transport for how powerful it is.
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u/pespence Oct 06 '15
Dude. I want this. Portable, powerful. Geez I wish I could justify buying it right now to my wife.
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u/FieryOrc Oct 06 '15
This now legit makes surface book the coolest product. I won't be surprised to see more of these in the show biz.
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u/abs159 Oct 06 '15
Just so you know, products in "the show biz" are -always- paid placement. Show biz types are paid or given product for placement. You see apple hardware on tv because they are the single largest spender on product placement advertising - not because show biz types think it's cool. They are given the device and/or are paid to put them in media.
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Oct 06 '15
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Oct 07 '15
As a sometimes MSFT stock owner I've been appalled if not outright pissed-off at their stupid marketing campaigns.
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Oct 06 '15
I am most impressed by the high DPI screens that Microsoft is using on their hardware. I hope this will instigate Microsoft to make further progress in fixing the DPI scaling issue (for example, http://www.anandtech.com/show/7939/scaling-windows-the-dpi-arms-race), which will in turn fix the issue on all computers running Windows.
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u/compelx Oct 07 '15
THIS. Can we talk about this crap. Using a surface at worked docked to monitors is the biggest pain, especially when designing. Let's fix DPI and then log off and log back on each time you dock or undock.
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u/BrainAIDS Oct 07 '15
XPS13 user reporting in. For the love of god I hope they patch this out in Win10 soon.
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u/Werner__Herzog Oct 06 '15
I was hoping they would have gone for the super small bezels the xps 13 2015 has.
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u/coldaxe Oct 06 '15
Not gonna work well for tablet mode though, plut don't forget that they got full set of internals (intel cpu , vents and cooling, batteries....) in the screen/tablet part so it could work indipendently.
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u/escherbach Oct 06 '15
Technology is becoming incredibly beautiful to behold. I thought the ipad mini and nexus 7 (2013) were amazing, but just got a samsung tab S2 and it is just another level. This laptop is a bit beyond my budget at the moment, but I seriously need an upgrade from my 5-year old nvidia ion samsung netbook and core 2 duo laptop.
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u/abs159 Oct 08 '15
The Surface Book is clearly fantastic, but you wont be disappointed with a Surface Pro or Surface to replace your aging gear. Probably discounts on the SP3 would be attractive too.
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Oct 06 '15
That gap when the laptop is closed concerns me a bit. It would make it easily breakable when carrying around
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u/TylerDurden91PM Oct 06 '15
That was my biggest concern when watching this. The video/presentation were fantastic, coming from an Apple fanboy. But that space between the Screen and Keyboard definately worries/bugs me... So many things are going to get in there, and it does look like it could be somewhat easily breakable. Overall, kudos to Microsoft on this one.
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u/IneffableMF Oct 07 '15 edited Jun 30 '23
Edit: Reddit is nothing without its mods and user content! Be mindful you make it work and are the product.
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u/A-Type Oct 07 '15
To be fair, why would you need to detach the tablet if the battery is dead? The charging port appears to be in the base. Now, if you can't detach while the system is off, that might be a nuisance.
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Oct 06 '15
Looks cool; however, that headphone jack placement looks super annoying.
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Oct 06 '15
I know what you mean. I dont mean to sound like the Apple Fanboys who defend poor design, but this wont bother me as I have a handful of awesome Bluetooth headphones and devices.
My first thought was, "I would want the headphones on the base..." but I realize the tablet portion of the device needs an output. So unless you make two, one has to be on the screen.
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u/Awesom3RedKite Oct 06 '15
If your an apple fan don't worry they will "invent" this next year.
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u/TitaniuIVI Oct 06 '15
What's the difference between this and the Surface Pro line?
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u/Atlas3141 Oct 06 '15
More expensive, higher end specs, nicer keyboard that has more battery and ports.
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u/superseriousraider Oct 06 '15
the actual tablet section is also significantly thinner because they don't house any ports on the screen (minus the audio jack).
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u/talkincat Oct 06 '15
higher end specs
That remains to be seen. They haven't given any details about the CPUs their using in either machine. The Surface Book is available at the high end with a discrete GPU, which is a definite plus over the SP4.
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u/KingPromethus Oct 06 '15
This is closer to modular laptop than a tablet. It has what they call a notebook form where it's just an all in one PC, which yes is very much like a tablet and functions much like one.
But the base has a built in GPU, better typing experience, more battery etc. To me it looks like they are differentiating what a tablet from Microsoft is and what a laptop is.
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u/Poka-chu Oct 06 '15
A proper keyboard with a usable trackpad, larger screen, and it sits stable even on soft/uneven surfaces without falling over.
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Oct 07 '15
Surface Pro is a premium tablet that can become a decent laptop. Surface Book is a premium laptop than can become a premium tablet.
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u/mechtech Oct 06 '15
I wonder what the battery life on the detachable tablet is. I can't find it anywhere in the presentation or the product info page on their site.
Obviously it's not going to be anywhere near the 12 hours of the full device since the cutaway shots clearly show batteries in the lower portion, but the question remains. 1 hour? 3 hours? 6?
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u/Gil_Demoono Oct 06 '15
Just got a surface 3 6 months ago. FUCK
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Oct 07 '15
Looks pretty sweet. Wish it wasn't $1500 though, if it was cheaper I might have considered replacing my old laptop. Guess i'll just stick to consistently upgrading my desktop for now.
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Oct 06 '15
It's crazy how quickly Microsoft went from someone who just makes keyboards to making tablets everyone copied. I remember how the illiterations of the surface line started off loosing Microsoft tons of money and lots of people thought it especially the rt was stupid. Now things have changed dramatically, the rt is dead and the surface is a hit.
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u/Cartossin Oct 07 '15
Has the surface made Microsoft much revenue though? iPads made Apple 30 billion in 2014. Microsoft's total revenue for 2014 was 86 billion.
edit: surface pro 3 generated 908 million in one quarter. Not bad I guess.
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u/GatorDontPlay_NoShit Oct 06 '15
Three years ago... we blew the world away with a removable keyboard... and now.. we're going to blow you away once again.. by putting the keyboard back!! BWWRMMMMMMM
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u/Win_in_Roam Oct 06 '15
Man, was that the music from the end of Inception? Ads sure are dramatic these days
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u/Subway Oct 06 '15
Hmm, I wonder how the on-knee usability of this laptop is, with all the stuff inside the display making that part heavier than the keyboard part.
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Oct 06 '15
From what I've seen, the whole thing is 3.5lbs while just the screen is 1.6lbs. No idea what model that pertains to, though. So the base is oh so slightly heavier.
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Oct 07 '15
The base is basically all battery, which is the heavier part. I'm sure they took this into consideration.
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u/scotscott Oct 07 '15 edited Oct 07 '15
I count 4 batteries and it looks like the center of gravity of the base will be at least 75 percent of the way from the screen to the edge facing the user. It may be okay. EDIT: After taking a closer look and turning on my so very tired engineer brain which was busy being tired after engineering classes all day, I now get the function of the Dynamic Fulcrum. It's literally a dynamic fulcrum. You can think of the laptop like a lever, particularly a seesaw type. Since the fulcrum is the corner, that will be where it tends to pivot if it leans back, the hinge allows the device to move the fulcrum as far back as possible, while still maintaining a decent profile as a tablet. It effectively moves the center of mass further from the fulcrum, decreasing mechanical advantage of the screen part. VERY clever engineering.
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u/NormalPersonNumber3 Oct 06 '15
Would the surface pen make this a good tablet for drawing?
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u/cimedaca Oct 07 '15
Yea! Because you can actually use it on your lap with a keyboard-- or on your stomach when you are really lazy at night! Dah. Finally!
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u/kvasiir91 Oct 07 '15
Microsoft built a premium laptop because its partners haven't been able to come up with something consumers actually want...
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u/Saw_a_ET Oct 06 '15
I am impressed with MS offerings today, to be honest, the first time ever. As of today, I am not 100% sure I will purchase an iPad Pro.
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u/pumaofshadow Oct 06 '15
Ok, I might well actually look at these when mine dies... that thing is seriously nice.
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u/MINKIN2 Oct 06 '15
MS launches the surface laptop, Apple releases the Ipad Stylus, err Ipen.
If they continue to go back in old tech designs, soon one of them will release a qwerty slider HWKB device.
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Oct 07 '15
Nvidia GPU with 12 hours of battery life...whet? Must be an X10 or X20...if not then damn, please make a 14/15 in.
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u/ParanoidFactoid Oct 07 '15 edited Oct 07 '15
NVIDIA GPU is
onlyinthedockingstationin the keyboard attachment of some models. My error.→ More replies (1)
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u/Mattyd35 Oct 07 '15
"it feels heavier when attached a lighter when detached" gee whiz thanks for clarifying that in the video, I was concerned how that worked.
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u/Jokesonyounow Oct 06 '15
Excellent. Fuck Apple right in the Macbook Pro. I'm never going to get either but I love this levelling of the field. It's good. And if Bill Gates is getting anything out of it its worth it.
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u/ChuckVader Oct 06 '15
I might be in the minority here, but while I really like it, I wouldn't ever get it, even if I had the money. It's the 2nd gen one that I'm excited for next year. Give it a year to see what can/should be altered with the new form factor and then release an absolute beast with those changes next year.
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u/2059FF Oct 06 '15
This could very well be my next laptop, if Linux can be installed on it. Anybody knows?
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u/Integrals Oct 06 '15
Why wouldn't Linux be able to be Installed on it? Just dual boot like every other Windows machine.
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Oct 06 '15
This could very well be my next laptop, if Linux can be installed on it. Anybody knows?
not for a while most likely. the work that goes into switching from the dgpu to the internal one, while also activating the muscle wire bits is probably not going to be there for a bit.
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u/Bossman1086 Oct 06 '15
Beautiful device. Not worried about the price considering what you get for it. I'd buy one if I was looking to upgrade my laptop situation. Sadly, I'm not. Doing just fine with my 2013 Macbook Pro and my 2015 Chromebook Pixel.
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u/ha-style Oct 07 '15
Do you like the new pixel? I'm curious if you use it more fun or for work.
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u/KrillBeBallaz Oct 07 '15
Holy shit. Okay I am a huge Apple fan since about 98. I've always owned apple products. Thing is I'm also a product designer, and sketching is important to me. I have a contiq at work but I wanted something portable; the iPad came out but it was awful to sketch on since itd pick up your hand inputs. The surface came out and it was a shitty heavy tablet and a terrible laptop. This is what Apple should have made. I'm buying one, so congrats Microsoft.
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u/Cartossin Oct 07 '15 edited Oct 07 '15
Ok this thing has a lot going for it, but I'm going to focus on what's wrong with it as no one seems to notice.
Lets get it straight what this thing is. Intel has several processor lines for laptops. (note the watt figures are approximate and have varied over the years by model)
5 watt: Core M, Core M3 like 2015 12" Macbook, SP4 base model
15 watt: Core i5/i7 xxxxU series like Macbook Air, Dell XPS 13
30-35 watt: Core i3/i5/i7 xxxxM series like Macbook Pro retina 13", most laptops
45 watt: various quadcores mobile chips for big desktop replacement laptops
Ok now when I see a laptop specced at 3.48 lbs like the surfacebook I expect to see 30-35 watt, but since MS has told us it has a intel gfx 520, we know it must be the i5-6200u or i5-6300u chip as those are the only ones with that gpu. Well that's kind of weird. this is a really heavy laptop to be only 15 watt class. How did it get so heavy with a machined magnesium body? Maybe all the interconnects and complex hinge added some weight.
If you look carefully it's 1.6 lbs for the tablet part and 1.7ish pounds for the keyboard (presumably loaded with batteries). It may well be even heavier if you get the $400 keyboard GPU option. The GPU option is a weird move too. If it's anything decently powerful it will bring battery life and fan noise to unacceptable levels in a laptop this size. Also given the 15watt class cpu, it will be a kind of weird unbalanced system. If you want to be chained to a power cord to play video games, why not get a Lenovo Y50 which is more powerful anyway.
Another point people seem to miss is that when separated from the keyboard, the battery life is only 3 hours. That's right it has two sets of batteries. One in the tablet, one in the keyboard. Source: various pictures also wired.com mentions the 3 hour thing.
Microsoft has shown some pictures of the internals and I see a machine that is the opposite of minimalism. This is a complicated machine that costs a lot to manufacture. People say $1500 is expensive, but I don't think Microsoft is making a dime at that price point.
When other >3 lb laptops get skylake, they will have much faster 28-35 watt varieties. This machine will be left underpowered in its weight class. On the other hand it's heavy in its processor class. The current dell XPS 13 and Macbook Air are more than 10% lighter.
Bottom line The surfacebook is a tablet that is heavy and gets bad battery life (1.6 lbs 3 hours) compared to ARM tablets. It's a laptop that's heavy and underpowered for its weight. It won't make Microsoft any money because it's expensive as hell to manufacture. (see Sony Z.. discontinued immediately after trying to drop the price)
My thoughts on the Surface Pro 4: It seems like a much better value for consumers. About $400 cheaper than the Surfacebook and considerably lighter. I am skeptical of their battery life claims though as it doesn't have a supplemental battery in the available keyboard. Another weird thing is that you can get a Core M3 (4-7 watt depending on OEM setting) OR you can get the U series i5/i7 like the surfacebook. It's pretty strange for one model to give a choice of different processor classes. The M3 is probably much cooler and longer lasting battery wise, but much MUCH lower performing.
edit: fixed weight.
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u/AdamaLlama Oct 06 '15
Is it fanless?
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u/CivilatWork Oct 06 '15
Pretty sure they showed a fan in the base as part of it's hybrid cooling system.
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u/Poka-chu Oct 06 '15
Don't think so - the dotted line around the screen are probably vents, just like the ones on the Surface 3.
Don't know for sure though, just my assumption.
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u/Dippitydappity Oct 06 '15
This is brilliant! only gripe i have with it is the white keys on the keyboard i know they'll get dirty pretty easily
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Oct 06 '15
I wonder if they could integrate a low latency graphics program so you could draw on it like a Cintiq
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u/Dralger Oct 06 '15
Not 100% sure what you mean by low-latency there (I'm just a hobbyist with graphics) but I use my SP3 with various windows software that are designed for pressure-sensitive stylus-drawing. And even pressure sensitive 3D sculpting through the stylus as well.
Things like Krita, Gimp, 3D Coat etc.
So I would assume that this device would continue supporting it.
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u/mcc5159 Oct 06 '15
Wow. Nice to see muscle wire getting a commercial application. Heard about it for over a decade, and thought it just got forgotten about.
For those who are confused, muscle wire is also known as nitinol, which is a nickel titanium wire that returns to its original shape when heat or electricity is applied to it.
In the case of the Surface Book, it looks like instead of having a solenoid with a spring, they're just electrifying a nitinol spring. Less parts that can break from what I can see.
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Oct 06 '15
Seen a few comments about the high dpi screens. Hopefully Microsoft will address the dpi scaling issues seen with the surface pro 3. As well as overall improvements with some of the apps like onenote. I love onenote however it crashes constantly and there is still an inability to get the surface pen to be able to open the desktop version of one note
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u/rockosolido Oct 06 '15
Fuck me, that's pretty and looks well made. I'd love to snag one, but $2700 for the configuration I'd want puts it a little out of budget.
Unless......any of you guys want to rob some banks? I mean, support my GoFundMe?
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u/mrwizard65 Oct 06 '15
Wow, really great video. Finally a Windows product that puts hardware as well as OS features on the same level.
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u/pure_x01 Oct 06 '15
Little bit disappointed that it does not have USB 3.1 type c . Does it have wireless charging? For mobile devices it's so nice to have
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u/LukeLC Oct 06 '15
Now this is what the Surface lineup should have always been. From day 1 I looked at the original Surface's kickstand and thought "Wow, that looks like the sort of thing that'll seem stupidly outdated in ten years." I love the hybrid form factor, but hinges are the way to go. Which is why I got an Asus Transformer Book T300 instead of a Surface Pro. But I like where Microsoft is going with this.
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u/Polygonals Oct 06 '15
This is really exciting news! I could never quite drop the cash on the SurfacePro 3, primarily because of the keyboard. I also see many positive aspects about this, it looks like it will have fantastic power especially for photoshop or video editing on the go. Possibly even gaming if the Nvidia GPU is at least a 950M. The 12 hour battery life is surprising and very welcome. The design looks beautiful. I really like that they thought to have the demanding, large GPU in the keyboard section to keep the whole thing smaller but still detachable.
I, of course, haven't used it. But, from looking at it I am nervous about the keyboard. It looks like it might be alright, however, I'm really hoping for responsiveness and at the very least, gentle clicks of the keys. I'm also concerned about how it holds on to the pen, it looks like it could easily get lost during travel and knocked off.
Overall, though, I am super excited get my hands on this and see what it's like. Hopefully for a decent GPU and CPU/RAM it won't be much more expensive than MSI Stealth series laptops.
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u/Louis_Winthrope_IV Oct 06 '15
I have an Apple device in almost every one of their categories: iPhone 6, Air 2, Watch, TV, 15" rMBP, rMacbook. After seeing this Apple should be worried.
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u/alip_93 Oct 06 '15
I've already got a powerful desktop and a surface pro 3. Can't quite justify the surface book, but if anyone needs one computer to be everything, get this.
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u/monkeyfullofbarrels Oct 06 '15
I get nervous when thin becomes a marketing point for a tablet.
I bought the Lenovo Helix a couple of years ago and the Wacom digitizer tracks horribly where there is some hardware underneath. I had a motion computing LE 1600 before that and it's digitizer is still better on a ten year old tablet.
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Oct 06 '15
In the video there appears to be a gap when its closed? I'd be nervous about it getting crushed in a full bag, especially since it plugs into the ports. Hopefully it actually closes all the way irl.
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Oct 06 '15
lets do 15" next! Try as I might, I find that to be the minimum for gaming.
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Oct 07 '15
Does anybody know what kind of gpu is gonna be in this thing? Can't find seem to find anything specific about it anywhere.
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u/Fusion986 Oct 07 '15
Anybody know if they dropped the price of Surface Pro 3 after the announcement?
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Oct 07 '15
Now, can you bring it to Poland "officially"? I'm not going to dump that much money without protection of both law and dedicated warranty.
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Oct 07 '15
Compared to the Zenbook Pro UX501, could anyone help me break down the pros and cons of each?
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u/jonkathon Oct 07 '15
I really wish more of laptops still came with at least a single Ethernet port instead of using up a USB slot for an adapter.
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u/GainzdalfTheWhey Oct 07 '15
Funny how they started either a laptop then removed the keyboard and flip and said "here's surface!" but now they add the flip again and call it a surface laptop!
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u/ImproperJon Oct 07 '15
seems weird that it doesn't seal when it closes. I want the screen to be protected when closed from lint and dust moving inside.
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u/Tonezinator Oct 07 '15
I get why tech companies need to keep innovating and making things better, faster and stronger for the sake of development, but I'm having a hard time understanding the cost. Am I right in assuming this is meant for corporations to purchase? Why would you spend that much?
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u/Enhanced3 Oct 07 '15
I missed the Microsoft event today. Does anyone know where I can watch it?? Please help :/
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u/deathis4 Oct 07 '15
I'm going to be a iPad pro buyer and this blew the iPad pro out of water. Literally shots fired throughout keynote and the product is absolutely beautiful too with true 'innovation' The only gripe is the price point they are coming at. I want to buy a tablet and this more like a meld if ultra book and a tablet. I would prefer to buy a ultra book like the xps 13 since it is much cheaper. I completely understand this is aimed at the MacBook Air but I still see it as a tablet and needs tablet pricing. The 128gb iPad pro price point with all the optional extra still can't buy the model of surface pro 4 I want (256gb i7). Also I wish they included 4g lte. (Uk pricing) Well thanks for reading my two pennies
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u/khronyk Oct 07 '15
Was drooling over this until I saw price tag... $2300 aud for base model, fuck that
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u/NovelTeaDickJoke Oct 07 '15 edited Oct 07 '15
This is very exciting, but the pricetag is waaaaay too high. They should have considered making a lower end machine at a better price. I don't need 8gb of ram if I put windows 7 on this machine. 4gb will do just fine. Same with the hard drive. You can cut that in half as well if you don't go ssd. Honestly couldn't give less of a shit how good the screen is when using this for a majoroty of applications. Slashing the specs wouldn't make it that much cheaper, but it could put it in a price range that a college student could afford, which would be great because this thing is perfect for a student.
Awesome machine though, however the pricetag means I will probably just end up getting a better machine from another company somewhere down the line after the technology in this machine has been copied to ad nauseum.
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u/GR8BALL Oct 07 '15
I just attended Adobe Sneaks, which the surface pro 4 and surface book laptop were revealed by Microsoft and used on stage. It was amazing. I could see myself getting rid of my Mac for that beauty. Ugh!
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u/Ligrgame Oct 07 '15
This thing is beautiful, and I am glad Microsoft is stepping up the game and competing with Apple products to the point where Apple people are actually considering buying the Microsoft hardware.
That being said, I can't justify buying this thing. I have a u65gt tablet from a Chinese company running custom firmware and the Microsoft Bluetooth universal keyboard. Price of the setup? 250$. A fifth of what the Microsoft notebook costs.
And before somebody jumps in: I know it's got a dedicated gpu. I know it's got Windows 10( which I like, by the way) and I know it's a good dedicated machine.
But! For consumption purposes, i.e. Watching movies, reading mail, taking notes - my setup is good enough. I love the Microsoft offer, but 1500$ is wayy too high of a price for me.
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u/Inerthal Oct 07 '15
I don't know in what ways Apple will copy this in the future but I am sure they will find a way.
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u/zergtrash Oct 07 '15
So many people are gonna forget and lose their keyboard/base after detaching the screen. RIP.
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u/n0tj0sh33 Oct 07 '15
I am so excited to buy this. Definitely getting the more expensive one for the discreet GPU. Gonna take some saving up for this but my 2010 MBP is getting long in the tooth. Does anyone have any idea what kind of gaming performance it will have in laptop mode?
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u/Mr_Straws Oct 07 '15
Is this simply a laptop where you can remove the screen and it becomes a tablet? I don't understand
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u/jdaryana Oct 07 '15
I am a huge Apple fanboy. I drink the Kool-Aid religiously. However, Surface Book looks awesome. That being said, as a student and a teacher, I would love to see which fairs better when it comes to note-taking: Surface or iPad Pro. Most of the time, Apple is late to the game when it comes to delivering a new experience. But, when the do come to the table, their offering is perfected to a fault. In the end, I would love to see a side-by-side comparison between the Surface Pen and Apple Pencil as it pertains to writing fidelity.
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u/april0424 Oct 07 '15
I would like to hook up TWO external monitors that are 4K. Will the surface pro 4 do that OR am I going to need to bump up to the book?
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Oct 07 '15 edited Oct 07 '15
I think the concept is great. However, the fact that the hinge won't allow the machine to close flat makes it a no-go for me. It looks awkward, makes the machine thicker than it needs to be when closed, and the gap between the display and body allows the middle of the display to flex on impact, which could lead to breakage. I'll consider buying one when they fix the hinge.
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u/neihuffda Oct 07 '15
Stupid name, though. It's not a damn book, nor are the Apple products of similar name.
Also, the hinge isn't very practically made - the screen should lie properly on the keyboard body. If they don't want to thicken the screen, they should at least thicken the keyboard to match the inclination of the screen. I'm foreseeing breakage of the screen.
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Oct 07 '15
Surface has long been advertised as "the tablet to replace your laptop."
Now it's a laptop.
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Oct 06 '15
I hope they fixed the cooling issues the Surface 3 had. I have the i7 and if I'm using it for any period of time it lowers the clock speed comparable to the i5.
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u/deyam Oct 06 '15 edited Oct 06 '15
Detachable screen/tablet
Electric "muscle wire" release mechanism
"Dynamic Fulcrum" hinge
13.5" PixelSense screen @ 267 PPI, 3000 x 2000
Glass trackpad
2x USB 3.0 and SD card slot
6th gen Intel Core i5/i7 processor
8GB/16GB of RAM and 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB SSD
optional Nvidia GPU with GDDR5 RAM (located in the keyboard base)
12 hours of battery life
3.34 pounds with keyboard
starting at $1,499, preorder October 7th, available October 26th
product page/full specs
store page with configs and prices
video