Microsoft have unveiled their first ever first-party laptop, the Surface Book. The hybrid machine combines a fully removable Surface Pro tablet and physical laptop body that can be used in the traditional configuration or flipped right around and used as a prop.
The Surface Book comes in a 13.5″ model and packs a pixel density of 267PPI. The real stand-out factor here is what Microsoft are calling the “dynamic fulcrum”, but what the rest of us might call a hinge. It actually looks like it flexes as it bends.
Microsoft is pitching this new device particularly at the sort of consumer that is keen to pick up a Surface but wants a slightly bigger screen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVfOe5mFbAE
They’re also having conniptions over the keyboard which Microsoft calls “the perfect typing experience.” It’s backlit, it has a travel distance of 1.6mm and Microsoft says it’s almost silent. Additionally, the device has a five-point touch sensitive trackpad.
Under the hood, there are your choice of Skylake i5 or i7 processors, and the base contains an Nvidia GeForce GDDR5 GPU so you’ll need to dock the tablet in order to take advantage of it. Additionally, Microsoft claims the battery will last for up to 12 hours on a single charge.
The Surface Book goes on sale in the US on October 26 with an asking price of US$1499. No word just yet on an Australian release but, historically, we’ve only ever been a month or two behind. We’ll keep you posted on any developments.
———-
