the Surface Book from Microsoft

has been my most coveted notebook computer,

the device I would switch to in an instant

if I wasn't so dependent on a MacBook Pro for video editing.

Well, not anymore.

My new favorite non-MacBook to drool over

is the Surface Book 2,

and it's a much bigger upgrade than it might first appear.

I'm Mister Mobile, and these are my first impressions

from a two-hour hands-on.

(upbeat music)

The biggest change is in choice.

The Surface Book 2 is available in two sizes,

a 13 1/2-inch model like the current one

and a new 15-inch trim.

The Surface Book has never been a small computer

thanks to its tall 3:2 display

and the special fulcrum hinge,

and the 15-incher feels truly mammoth as a result.

While the hinge might look the same on the outside,

it's been stiffened internally

to accommodate the added mass of the larger clipboard,

so you shouldn't get any more wobble

than with the current Surface Book

when you're using it as a touchscreen.

Microsoft says it's reduced the time it takes

to eject the clipboard too but to me,

the difference was negligible.

The net result is a Surface Book that, in both sizes,

sticks firmly to its roots.

The clipboard itself is a self-contained PC

with a display that can register over 4,000 levels

of pressure sensitivity,

so you can use it with the Surface Pen.

It runs Windows 10 Pro out of the box.

On the 15-inch, that's powered

by an eight generation Intel Core i7.

And if you step it down to the smaller model,

you've got the option of sticking with that same silicon

or saving some dough

with a seventh generation Core i5.

Drop the clipboard into the keyboard dock

and on the higher end models,

you get an upgraded graphics processor

with between two and six gigs of dedicated memory.

That'll help when you're running

3D-heavy programs, video editors, and games.

You also get a backlit keyboard

with key travel only slightly shallower than last year,

and you get access to a whole bucket full of batteries,

approximately 80 watt-hours combined in the big one

and 70 watt-hours in the junior Book.

Microsoft says you should be able to squeeze five hours

out of each in tablet mode and 17 hours when docked.

Between you and me, that seems outrageously optimistic

probably because it's a result of a looping video test

but we'll have to wait for the full review

to see if it pans out.

Speaking of, subscribe to the Mister Mobile on YouTube

so you don't miss it.

That's a ton of power under the hood

but my favorite features are visible right on the surface.

See, unlike Apple, Microsoft isn't interested

in courageously pushing the envelope

by stripping its laptops of ports

that professionals still use,

so both new Surface Books come

with two full-sized USB-A plugs, an SD card reader,

and a new USB-C port

that works for both data transfer and charging.

To get the same options

out of my brand new $4,000 MacBook Pro,

I needed to buy a fistful of inconvenient adapters.

While Microsoft did have to ditch the display port

to make room for USB-C,

I think the trade-off is well worth it.

Are there decisions here that might give people pause?

Yes.

As beautiful as this design is,

it's basically unchanged from the very first Surface Book,

so some might find the aesthetics a bit stale.

Also, between 3 1/2 and 4 1/4 pounds,

these are not small machines.

And with prices starting at 1,499 and 2,499

for junior and jumbo sizes respectively,

they're not exactly competitively priced either

when you take other Windows notebooks into account.

But the Surface Book was never meant to compete

with lower cost laptops,

it was built to take on the MacBook Pro,

and that's not blogger hyperbole either.

Microsoft name-dropped the MacBook a lot at the launch event

calling the Surface Book twice as powerful

and reminding us all that it could be used as a laptop,

a tablet, or a hybrid.

Now add to that what I mentioned before,

how frustrated some professionals are

with Apple's insistence on forcing us into a USB-C future

that our cameras and peripherals just aren't ready for yet,

and then consider that the Surface Book

starts at about the same price as a MacBook Pro.

Even if you're like me,

so reliant on Apple's software

that moving over just isn't an option right now,

you've got to admit, it's tempting.

The Surface Book 2 is available for preorder November nine

with a launch date of November 16 in the US.

Mister Mobile's full review

will hopefully be up around then

covering all the little stuff from speakers to lapability

that didn't make it into this quick look.

In the meantime, let me know what you think.

Do you own an earlier Surface Book,

or are you maybe an Apple user

on the brink of making the jump?

Drop a line in the comments, let me know, and subscribe

to the Mister Mobile on YouTube

so you don't miss that full review.

Until next time, thanks for watching

and stay mobile, my friends.