Check out every little detail of the new Surface Book

Oct 7, 2015 09:10 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft finally has a fully-featured rival for Apple's MacBook called Surface Book, so it's pretty clear just by reading their names that the two are supposed to compete against each other.

Just like it did with the Surface tablet, which was launched in 2012 as a tablet which could double as a laptop, Microsoft is trying to invent a new device category with the Surface Book.

It can be used 99 percent of the time as a laptop, but if you want more productivity, better collaboration, and easy note taking, simply detach the keyboard and you can use the device as a clipboard. The Surface Pen is also supported, so writing and drawing should feel very natural although some might think that working on a 13.5-inch screen device might not be really easy with a pen.

Microsoft says that it is, so the Surface Pen has also been revamped and now provides up to 1 year of battery life. The same pen works on the Surface Pro 3, Surface Pro 4, and Surface Book.

The fast 13-inch laptop in its class

Microsoft claims that with the Surface Book it invents a new device class, but at the same time, it also claims that this is the fastest 13-inch laptop in its class, so it might all be just a poor choice of words.

Judging by the spec sheet, the Surface Book is indeed a productivity workhorse, as it comes with powerful hardware, such as Intel's Skylake lineup of processors, up to 16 GB of RAM, and up to 1 TB of storage space.

An optional NVIDIA GeForce GPU is also available in case you need more video power, with pricing going all the way up to $2,600 for the top-of-the-range model. All technical specifications and pricing of the Surface Book can be found here. The high-resolution gallery is available after the jump.

Surface Book (14 Images)

Microsoft Surface Book
Microsoft Surface BookMicrosoft Surface Book
+11more