Editor's note, November 27th, 10:30AM ET: When we originally tested the Surface Book 2, we noticed extreme power drain issues. Microsoft replaced the power supply, and we haven't e xperienced the same issues with the replacement part. This review and score have been updated to reflect this. Windows 10 Mobile disables the receipt of push notifications to save energy when battery saver is on. However, there is an exception to this behavior. In Windows 10 Mobile, the Always allowed battery saver setting (found in the Settings app) allows apps to receive push notifications even when battery saver is on. I always wanted Microsoft to build a laptop, and it finally went ahead and built one without any tricks earlier this year. The has no gimmicks, no kickstand, and no detachable screen. It’s simply the best laptop you can buy right now. So that begs the question: why has Microsoft created another heavy, gimmicky, yet powerful Surface Book? The answer lies in who the Surface Book is for, and it’s certainly not for everybody. The best match for Microsoft’s new Surface Book 2 is. Providing an answer to Apple’s option, but with Windows-specific strengths like a touchscreen and detachable display, is really why the Surface Book 2 exists. The new 15-inch model goes one step further in matching and even beating Apple’s latest MacBook Pro lineup on paper. It’s a hefty and powerful laptop just like the original. It’s also a tablet, thanks to that detachable display. Its high-end graphics card and support for Xbox controllers also make it a miniature Xbox One for gaming on the go. Believe it or not, the Surface Book 2 is the first portable Surface computer that you can actually play the latest games on, but it’s more complicated than just that. Starting at $2,499 ($1,499 for the 13.5-inch model), the 15-inch Surface Book 2 is $100 more than a comparable MacBook Pro and is at the very high end of the laptop market. The top model with 1TB of storage is $3,299, so you’re going to spend a lot of cash if you want this new 15-inch version. Is it worth the high price for what the Surface Book 2 offers, or is this just another laptop / tablet hybrid that overextends itself with gimmicks? Visually, the Surface Book 2 looks identical to the first Surface Book. There’s a big — not MacBook Pro giant, but still big — trackpad, an awesome keyboard, and a sleek silver magnesium finish. The Surface Book was always an oversized 13.5-inch laptop that felt like it was edging closer to a 15-inch machine, and for that reason the larger size strangely feels familiar. Sure, it’s bigger in your lap, it’s heavier, and the screen is much larger than a typical ultrabook, but you’re also getting a lot more power under the hood. The 15-inch screen maintains the typical quality I’ve come to expect from Surface hardware, with great color reproduction and viewing angles. It’s also nearly 4K now (3240 x 2160), and maintains the 3:2 aspect ratio that makes it great for reading or writing. Beneath the display is the same fulcrum hinge from the original Surface Book that stretches around the base and has the same weird gap when you close it. It functions almost identically to the original Surface Book, allowing you to remove the display and use it as a tablet. Typing on the Surface Book 2 keyboard is a joy. It’s a far better experience than smaller laptops as there isn’t any flex underneath the full-travel keys, and the spacing just feels solid. It’s largely the same as the original Surface Book, but Microsoft hasn’t tried to fix something that isn’t broken here. Autotune fl studio for mac. The ports are also mostly the same, except for the addition of USB-C. This is the first Surface product to feature USB-C, but strangely, Microsoft hasn’t added Thunderbolt 3, so you still can’t use external GPUs or other higher-speed peripherals. It’s infuriating that Microsoft is ditching DisplayPort without adding Thunderbolt 3, but you can at least use the USB-C port to charge the Surface Book 2. You’ll need a powerful wall charger to do this, though, as a regular phone charger won’t be enough. For other I/O needs, the Surface Book 2 still has two regular USB 3.1 ports, a (full-size!) SD card reader, and the Surface Connector. If you plug the Surface Connector in while you’re charging from USB-C, the Connector will take over power duties. The Connector can also be used to attach a Surface Dock for multiple monitors, Ethernet, and additional USB connections. While the outside is very familiar, inside, the Surface Book 2 is where you’ll find all of the improvements, and they add up to a big difference over the prior model. Microsoft is finally using quad-core processors (that latest generation i7 versions from Intel) and a proper discrete graphics chip in the form of Nvidia’s GTX 1060 for the 15-inch version. (The 13-inch model can be equipped with either integrated graphics or a GTX 1050.) The processor bump will help performance in gaming, video editing, and other CPU-intensive tasks. I’d say it’s hard to spot in regular use of apps and browser sessions, but it will certainly make a difference elsewhere in processing images or video. Gaming is the only time I have really heard the Surface Book 2’s fans. Depending on what you’re doing, if you slide the power settings to maximum performance then the fans will immediately kick in. They’re noticeable during games or other GPU / CPU-intensive tasks, but they seem to do the job as the base of the Surface Book 2 doesn’t get too hot.
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