14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft launched the new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro earlier this year, but the company might have another new Surface device in the queue that could see daylight as soon as this fall.
The software giant is reportedly preparing the launch of the second-generation Surface Book, presumably called Surface Book 2, and now it has started discounting the existing models and even pulling the top configurations that were only recording low sales.
The Surface Book SKU with 1TB storage space is no longer up for grabs, Thurrott noticed, and seeing the device getting pulled more or less makes sense after it’s been out of stock for a long time. This means that Microsoft tried to clear out the inventory as much as possible before discontinuing this configuration entirely.
At the same time, the Surface Book versions with 128GB and 256GB are also $150 more affordable in the United States at the online Microsoft Store.
At this point, the only way to get the 1TB Surface Book is from third-party retailers, though there’s only a slight chance to find out that’s still available given the device was out of stock at Microsoft for so long.
Surface Book 2
As far as the second-generation Surface Book is concerned, not much is known at this point, but the cited source speculates it could go live in October.
It goes without saying that hardware upgrades are very likely, including Intel’s most recent processors, as well as RAM and storage boosts. 1TB storage versions will probably make their way to the Surface Book 2, while the top-of-the-line could come with 2TB as a response to Apple’s recently-upgraded MacBook lineup.
People close to the matter said earlier this year that Microsoft was looking into some design changes as well, including the removal of the signature hinge that was available on the first-generation model. It remains to be seen if the company indeed embraces such an approach, but there’s a good chance the 2-in-1 form factor would be retained no matter the upgrades.