The Surface Book is a
2-in-1 PC designed and produced by
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...
, part of the company's
Surface line of
personal computing devices. Surface Book is distinguished from other Surface devices primarily by its full-sized, detachable
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Mu ...
, which uses a dynamic
fulcrum
A fulcrum is the support about which a lever pivots.
Fulcrum may also refer to:
Companies and organizations
* Fulcrum (Anglican think tank), a Church of England think tank
* Fulcrum Press, a British publisher of poetry
* Fulcrum Wheels, a bicy ...
hinge
A hinge is a mechanical bearing that connects two solid objects, typically allowing only a limited angle of rotation between them. Two objects connected by an ideal hinge rotate relative to each other about a fixed axis of rotation: all other ...
that expands when it is opened. The keyboard contains a second
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
, a number of
ports and an optional
discrete graphics card used when the screen part, also dubbed as the clipboard by Microsoft, is docked to it. Unlike
Surface Pro
The Surface Pro is a first generation 2-in-1 detachable of the Microsoft Surface series, designed and manufactured by Microsoft. The device ran a 64-bit version of Windows 8 Pro operating system with a free upgrade possibility to Windows 8.1 ...
devices, which are marketed as
tablets, the Surface Book is marketed as a
laptop
A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...
, Microsoft's first device marketed as such. Unlike the
Surface Laptop devices, the two parts are detachable.
History
Surface Book was announced at the Windows 10 Devices Event by Microsoft on October 6, 2015, alongside the
Surface Pro 4
The Surface Pro 4 is the fourth-generation Surface-series 2-in-1 detachable, designed, developed, marketed, and produced by Microsoft. The Surface Pro 4 was announced on October 6, 2015 alongside the Surface Book. In the U.S. and Canada, the S ...
, and went on sale shortly thereafter.
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
The Surface Pen is an active stylus and digital pen developed by Microsoft for its series of Surface computing devices. It is designed to showcase the pen computing capabilities of Microsoft's Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10 operating systems. ...
.
In October 2016, Microsoft announced an updated Surface Book with a new
Nvidia
Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...
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,
which was itself replaced by the
Surface Book 3 in 2020.
Features
Design
The Surface Book's design was influenced by a goal to design a
2-in-1 convertible tablet that could be folded like a laptop, and not require the keyboard to be heavier than the tablet portion in order to support and balance the tablet portion.
To reach this goal, the Surface development team developed a special hinge on the keyboard that would increase the footprint of the device when opened, thus maintaining the balance without increasing the weight differential between the two parts.
The hinge is accompanied by muscle wire locks that secure the tablet portion to the keyboard.
The wires are made from
nickel titanium—an alloy that contracts when exposed to an electrical current; pressing a release button on the keyboard sends an electrical impulse through the wires that attach or release the clips.
The team also worked with the Microsoft team developing
Windows 10
Windows 10 is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It is the direct successor to Windows 8.1, which was released nearly two years earlier. It was released to manufacturing on July 15, 2015, and later to retail on ...
to implement a switchable graphics system, where the tablet would be able to switch to a discrete
graphics card
A graphics card (also called a video card, display card, graphics adapter, VGA card/VGA, video adapter, display adapter, or mistakenly GPU) is an expansion card which generates a feed of output images to a display device, such as a computer mo ...
located within the keyboard when docked, and revert to internal graphics when undocked.
The Surface Book's use cases are reflected by several design decisions, such as referring to the tablet portion as being a ''
clipboard
A clipboard is a thin, rigid board with a clip at the top for holding paper in place. A clipboard is typically used to support paper with one hand while writing on it with the other, especially when other writing surfaces are not available. The ...
''. 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.
The Surface Book's keyboard is considered a standard component of the device, and is bundled with all models.
The device consists of a
tablet
Tablet may refer to:
Medicine
* Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill"
Computing
* Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the ...
portion with a , 3000×2000 resolution display,
and a keyboard attachment.
That allows it to function similarly to a traditional laptop. Both components are constructed from machined
magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ...
.
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.
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
USB 3.0 ports, full-size
SD card slot on the left,
Mini DisplayPort and ''SurfaceConnect'' port on the right, has an integrated additional battery and an optional
Nvidia
Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...
discrete GPU
A graphics card (also called a video card, display card, graphics adapter, VGA card/VGA, video adapter, display adapter, or mistakenly GPU) is an expansion card which generates a feed of output images to a display device, such as a computer mo ...
with 1 GB of video memory.
It can be used for non-demanding tasks such as
web browsing without the connected keyboard part, and when laptop convenience, extended connectivity, performance, and battery life are needed — with the keyboard attached.
The 2-in-1's display features the same 3:2
aspect ratio and 10-point
multi-touch
In computing, multi-touch is technology that enables a surface (a touchpad or touchscreen) to recognize the presence of more than one point of contact with the surface at the same time. The origins of multitouch began at CERN, MIT, University ...
display, found in other Surface tablets starting from Surface Pro 3, but its size and resolution are significantly increased at and 3000×2000 (267
PPI) respectively.
Surface Book models are built with a 6th generation
Skylake Intel Core i5 or i7
processors
A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, a ...
. The top CPU option, i7-6600U, has a
clock rate
In computing, the clock rate or clock speed typically refers to the frequency at which the clock generator of a processor can generate pulses, which are used to synchronize the operations of its components, and is used as an indicator of the pr ...
of 2.6
GHz, with up to 3.4 GHz in
Turbo Boost mode.
There is an
Intel HD Graphics 520 GPU available,
integrated in all processor options, however it is possible to order a Surface Book with an additional custom variant of
Nvidia GeForce 940M Maxwell
Maxwell may refer to:
People
* Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist
* Justice Maxwell (disambiguation)
* Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of ...
-architecture
discrete GPU
A graphics card (also called a video card, display card, graphics adapter, VGA card/VGA, video adapter, display adapter, or mistakenly GPU) is an expansion card which generates a feed of output images to a display device, such as a computer mo ...
for the improved operation of GPU performance-demanding programs such as
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe Premiere Pro is a timeline-based and non-linear video editing software application (NLE) developed by Adobe Inc. and published as part of the Adobe Creative Cloud licensing program. First launched in 2003, Adobe Premiere Pro is a successo ...
.
During the presentation it was stated that the models with Nvidia GPU can comfortably run games with a performance footprint of
League of Legends
''League of Legends'' (''LoL''), commonly referred to as ''League'', is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by '' Defense of the Ancients'', a custom map for ''Warcraft III'', ...
.
The Surface Book is able to connect and disconnect the discrete GPU automatically, on-the-fly and without an
OS reboot needed, when user attaches and detaches the keyboard part.
Two
system memory options available are: 8 or 16 GB and four
SSD
A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies to store data persistently, typically using flash memory, and functioning as secondary storage in the hierarchy of computer storage. It is a ...
options: 128, 256, 512 GB, or 1 TB, but the higher SSD option is not available in some countries.
The front camera contains an infrared sensor that supports logging in with
Windows Hello.
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
Nvidia
Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...
GeForce GTX 965M discrete GPU along with an additional 1 GB of
GDDR5
Graphics Double Data Rate 5 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (GDDR5 SDRAM) is a type of synchronous graphics random-access memory (SGRAM) with a high bandwidth ("double data rate") interface designed for use in graphics cards, game co ...
video memory (meaning the new Surface Book now has 2 GB of
vRAM instead of 1 GB). The base of this updated Surface Book is also thicker than the original in order to incorporate an additional cooling fan for the new GPU and more internal batteries, allowing for an additional 4 hours of video playback - upping the total claimed runtime of the device to 16 hours. This model is also heavier and is available only with an
Intel Core i7 processor. There are no upgrades to the processors, RAM, or storage in the Surface Book with Performance Base over the original.
Software
Surface Book models ship with a pre-installed 64-bit version of
Windows 10 Pro and a 30-day
trial
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office, or simply Office, is the former name of a family of client software, server software, and services developed by Microsoft. It was first announced by Bill Gates on August 1, 1988, at COMDEX in Las Vegas. Initially a marketin ...
suite.
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
In computer networking, Gigabit Ethernet (GbE or 1 GigE) is the term applied to transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a gigabit per second. The most popular variant, 1000BASE-T, is defined by the IEEE 802.3ab standard. It came into use ...
, four
USB 3.0 and one audio out port to the 2-in-1.
Just like the Surface Pro devices, Surface Book includes a ''Surface Pen''.
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
LTE connectivity and
USB-C
USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical Electrical connector, connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be co ...
ports, was noted along with the price of the highest-specs model (US$3,200 for one with 1 TB of storage and a Core i7).
In addition, many reviewers had pre-release issues with the hinge undocking mechanism and graphics display drivers, both of which Microsoft resolved at a later date through a Windows software update. The first review versions of the hardware did not initially have
Windows Hello enabled, but after a firmware update enabled it reception of the feature was positive.
The "teardown" site
iFixit scored the Surface Book 1/10 for repairability mainly due to the use of glue instead of screws to hold the unit together and the impossibility of upgrading things such as the CPU and RAM that are both soldered to the motherboard.
Issues
The
Windows Hello driver included in a
firmware
In computing, firmware is a specific class of computer software that provides the low-level control for a device's specific hardware. Firmware, such as the BIOS of a personal computer, may contain basic functions of a device, and may provide h ...
update failed to properly reinitialize the infrared camera after waking from
sleep mode, causing Windows Hello to fail until a reboot. Firmware updates were issued in April and May 2016 to fix the camera. The device had a battery life issue where it failed to sleep properly, draining the battery very quickly. Microsoft developed a fix that was available on February 17, 2016. An additional issue raised by many Surface owners is problems with expanding lithium batteries that causes screen discoloration and separation of the screen from the body of the computer. This has led to concerns about potential fire and explosion hazards. The design of the Surface does not allow for the battery to be easily exchanged. Other reported problems included power management issues in which sleep and standby modes resulted in the unexpected continual drain of the battery.
Timeline
References
External links
*
*
{{Microsoft
Microsoft Surface
Tablet computers introduced in 2015
2-in-1 PCs