Updated Microsoft Surface Book May Just Be A MacBook Pro Killer
Last year, Microsoft released the powerful Surface Book. Some people paid more than $2,000 for a device that felt like a beta experiment. The video drivers, touchpad, keyboard, screen, Surface Pen, and just about everything else caused problems. Finally, by December, the Sunday Express reported that Microsoft finally acknowledged the issues.
“Unfortunately the Surface Book is not yet available in the UK, but early customers are prorating a number of issues with the Surface Book, including flickering displays, system instability and power problems. Microsoft quickly responded by releasing a slew of firmware and software updates within weeks of the release of the new device.”
As the article adds, even after Microsoft issued the drivers, there were still complaints. Microsoft then apologized for the Surface Book issues and promised to fix them by early 2016. It wasn’t until the spring of 2016 that the Microsoft notebook realized its full potential.
While Microsoft is scheduled to release the Surface Book 2 next spring, they have updated the higher-end versions of the Surface Book. The Verge has the news.
“Microsoft has only made two internal changes: the graphics processor has been bumped up to a Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M with 2GB GDDR5 memory and the battery has been increased in capacity to provide an estimated 16 hours of stamina, four hours more than last year’s model.”
The article adds that Microsoft was forced to adjust the base of the updated Surface Book, and it is now heavier than last year’s model. Still, some of the commenters after the article aren’t impressed.
“Worst thing is that Microsoft exaggerated battery life by 10 hours or so! That’s not exaggerating, that’s plane deceiving!” screams MindYourMind.
“I’m really disappointed about how misleading Microsoft is with their Surface marketing,” says P_giguere1.
Forbes is impressed with the updated Surface Book.
“Microsoft has taken another direction with the Surface Book. It has the luxury to make a machine for power users. it can pack in battery life, it can put a huge focus on graphics horsepower and it can work with a wide range of ports for the professionals,” says columnist Ewan Spence, who adds that although the new Surface Book isn’t for everyone, “it serves the top end of the market very well.”
The updated Surface Book comes out just in time to provide competition to the higher-end versions of the 2016 MacBook Pro. Even though the new Pro doesn’t have touchscreen capabilities, it has a “Touch Bar” to replace the Function keys. According to Laptop Magazine, the touchbar is anything but a gimmick.
“The MacBook Pro is supposed to be for serious work, but the new Touch Bar is a lot of fun. Actually, it’s a lot more than that. After spending just 20 minutes with the new 13-inch ($1,799) and 15-inch ($2,399) models, I’ve found it be a real time-saver.”
Columnist Mark Spoonauer adds that the Touch Bar is especially useful when it is configured for different apps, such as Microsoft Office, Final Cut Pro, or Adobe Photoshop. Unfortunately, many OS X programs still need to be updated to take advantage of the MacBook Pro’s new addition.
For those waiting for a Mac OS X device with digital inking capabilities, it is highly rumored that the next 12-inch MacBook will be that device. However, that’s not likely going to be released until next spring. For now, the Surface Book or the Surface Pro 4, which both run Windows 10, are considered top-notch devices.
[Featured Image by Andrew Burton/Getty Images]
