Microsoft Surface Book 2 15″ Pro-Class 2-in-1 Laptop with Detachable Keyboard

The Microsoft Surface Book 2 15″ is a bigger member of the professional-class Surface Book 2 2-in-1 PC series. There’s also a 13.5″ version of the luxury 2-in-1 laptop. Both have detachable keyboards as stand-out features. Other recognizable perks are “dynamic fulcrum” adjustable hinge, productivity-optimized 3:2 screen aspect ratio, chiclet-style backlit keyboard, and magnesium alloy finish of the sleek silver-colored chassis.

The 15″ display has a sharp resolution of 3240 x 2160 pixels and supports finger touch, active digitizer pen input with pressure sensitivity, as well as work with the Surface Dial accessory. The Pen and Dial are sold separately.

The heart of the Microsoft Surface Book 2 15″ is the 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8650U quad-core processor. It’s paired with the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB higher-end dedicated video card. This is a powerful CPU / GPU combination for the daily and demanding tasks like video production or 3D modeling, as well as for gaming. The card is housed in the keyboard deck, so it isn’t accessible when the deck is detached. System memory options are 8GB or 16GB, while for storing data there are 256GB, 512GB or 1-Terabyte solid state drives.

According to Microsoft, the batteries in the keyboard base and tablet part can together give up to 17 hours of “video playback” battery life.

The base features two standard USB 3.0 ports, a small USB-C port with support for video output, an SD media card reader, and Microsoft’s Surface Connect charging port.

The tablet portion features a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with Windows Hello face recognition log-in support, an 8-MP camera on the back, stereo speakers, a combo mic / headphones jack, 802.11AC wireless, Bluetooth, and another Surface Connect port.

Specifications

Here are the specs of the Microsoft Surface Book 2 15 with descriptions of its features. For comparison against other laptops, you can use the "Compare Specs" button.

Brand	Microsoft Microsoft is very well known for its software, including Windows operating system and Microsoft 365 and Office productivity suites. But, they also make the popular Surface laptops and convertibles.
Laptop Type	2-in-1 convertible laptop PC 2-in-1 means the laptop can convert itself into a tablet PC. Tablet PC The device can be used as a tablet, without a keyboard connected to it.
Screen Size	15-inch This is a laptop screen size slightly smaller than the most popular 15.6".
Screen Resolution	3240x2160 pixels This resolution provides an excellent picture sharpness and a lot of space on the display for the user interface and apps. It's noticeably better than the popular Full HD and almost as good as Ultra HD 4K.
Touchscreen	Finger multi-touch input The screen supports finger touch input, including multi-touch gestures. Active digitizer pen input The screen supports active digitizer pen input, besides the common finger multi-touch input. In comparison to simple capacitive pens you can use on any touchscreen, active digitizer pen input provides advanced features like pressure sensitivity. Check with the laptop seller whether the active pen is included in the package.
Other Display Specs	IPS type Displays based on IPS technology provide much wider viewing angles than the budget-class TN screens.
Processor (CPU)	Intel Core i7-8650U 8th Gen (decent for heavier tasks, besides enabling effortless daily computing)
Graphics (GPU)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB dedicated video card (able to run all games, but may not be smooth on high detail settings in heavy games)
System Memory (RAM) Size	8GB RAM The 8GB RAM size is the standard one in 2023. It provides comfortable multi-tasking for the most home and office users. Keep in mind that 8GB may be not enough for some demanding programs and many newer games. 16GB RAM 16GB and greater RAM sizes are recommended for heavy multitasking, gaming, and specialized programs that require a lot of RAM.
Data Storage	256GB SSD 256GB is a decent capacity. If you tend to download and store a lot of large files like movies and install many programs, 512GB or more is a better choice. 512GB SSD 512GB or larger storage capacity is recommended if you store a lot of large files and install many programs. 1000GB (1TB) SSD 1TB is an excellent storage capacity. The sizes above 512GB, including 1TB, are recommended for those who store a lot of large files.
DVD Optical Drive	None
Keyboard & Input	Backlit keyboard without dedicated number pad The keyboard has backlit keys for easier typing in the dark. There's no separate numeric pad you can typically find on the right side of the keyboard on many laptop models. Touchpad with click buttons built into the surface The left and right click buttons are built into the surface of the touchpad, as opposed to separate physical buttons. Touchscreen Active digitizer pen (optional)
Speakers & Audio	Stereo speakers As usual, the device features a pair of built-in stereo speakers. Combo microphone and headphones audio jack This laptop has a standard 3.5mm combo audio jack that supports both headphone output and microphone input simultaneously.
Camera	Front + rear Laptops usually feature a frontal webcam located on the display bezel. This device additionally has a rear camera. 5MP front + 8MP rear Besides the usual frontal camera, this device features a rear cam as well. The cameras feature 5 and 8 Megapixel sensors, respectively. Face-recognition camera The dedicated infra-red face recognition cameras in laptops are used for Windows Hello log-ins, without password typing.
Wi-Fi Wireless	802.11AC The 802.11AC is the previous-generation wireless networking standard. It's also known as Wi-Fi 5. 802.11AC is succeeded by 802.11AX Wi-Fi 6 with data transfer speed and multi-device connectivity improvements.
Ethernet Network Port	No This laptop has no Ethernet LAN port for wired internet and networking connectivity.
Mobile broadband (4G LTE)	No
Bluetooth	Yes This laptop has a built-in Bluetooth module. It enables you to connect the computer to Bluetooth mice and other Bluetooth peripherals, smartphones, and other Bluetooth-equipped devices.
USB Ports	1 x USB-C A compact type of USB port, commonly found in modern laptops and phones. 2 x USB 3.0 A pair of full-size USB ports.
Video Output Ports	Video out via USB-C The laptop can deliver digital video output via USB-C.
Media Card Reader	SD card reader The laptop has a slot for full-size SD memory cards, used in many digital cameras. You can also use microSD cards with a card adapter.
Other Features	TPM (Trusted Platform Module, a security feature)
Battery	"Up to 17 hours of video playback"
Weight	4.2 pounds
Height	0.9"
Width	13.5"
Depth	9.9"
Windows Version	Windows 10 Pro Windows 10 Pro version adds some business-specific features in comparison to the standard Windows Home. Windows 10 Pro upgradeable to the latest Windows 11 Pro for free.
Warranty	1-year A typical laptop warranty.