We liked the original Surface Book on review here at T3.com. We loved its flexibility and do-anything capabilities - it was just so powerful and premium that, despite a few minor issues, it was not hard to wholeheartedly recommend. And here, with the new Surface Book 2, nothing has changed.

Massively powerful for a 2-in-1; Battery life is excellent; Lightweight despite size and spec; Screen is superb; Can play modern AAA games at high settings

Surface Pen is not included; Drab grey finish; Speakers are so-so

Microsoft have been striving to present a stark alternative to Apple's coffee-shop-ubiquitous Macbook line for a while now. In the past, their Surface range of (mostly) hybrid laptops/tablets have hardly been gaming machines, but that's now changed with current range-topper, the shockingly expensive...

Like its larger sibling, the Microsoft Surface Book 2 (13.5-inch) is an excellent device, and one of the most powerful 2-in-1 devices we've tested. It has a premium design, excellent features and is a great showcase for Windows 10 - though it comes at a price.

Very good battery life; Powerful; Feels great to use as a tablet; Fanless design

Very expensive; Not as powerful as 15-inch model; No Surface Pen included

I always wanted Microsoft to build a laptop, and it finally went ahead and built one without any tricks earlier this year. The Surface Laptop has no gimmicks, no kickstand, and no detachable screen. It's simply the best laptop you can buy right now.

Great keyboard and trackpad; Powerful machine with Nvidia graphics; Xbox Wireless support

Display still wobbles when you touch it; Battery can drain under heavy GPU load; No Thunderbolt 3 support

There's a lot going on with the new Surface Book 2. It's not just a laptop, it's a laptop with the latest 8th-gen Intel Core-series CPUs . You can detach the screen and cart it around as a standalone tablet, or connect it to the keyboard base for extra battery life and graphics power.

The new Surface Book 2 adds a long list of worthy upgrades, from new CPUs and gamer-ready graphics cards to a bigger 15-inch version; Battery life and performance are both excellent

The two-in-one design still feels awkward at times, and for some users, the detachable screen may be superfluous; The most interesting new components are only available in very expensive configurations

2015 seems to have been a turning point for Microsoft's Surface hardware initiative. Despite the failure of Windows RT and the associated Surface RT, the Intel-powered Surface was beginning to gain some real traction and notoriety with the Surface Pro 3 in late 2014, but was still fairly niche.

finally pulled a trigger to replace my rMBP with Surface book 2. I do not regret it for a moment. It's feature packed, still not as smooth UI as MacOS, but features make up for the difference

Battery Life; Lightweight; Performance; Quality

Difficult to Set Up; Display Screen

Reviewing the Microsoft Surface Book 2 is like putting on a pair of comfortable old slippers – that aaahhh feeling of familiarity and comfort as you slip into them. Ray Shaw [email protected] has a passion for IT ever since building his first computer in 1980.

It is unique; for what it is it is nealy perfect

Wish it had Thunderbolt 3

I purchased this laptop for only $1499 at my local Costco Warehouse and it works amazing!

If you're a designer nothing can really match the power and reliability of the Surface Book 2 in the same price bracket. I had to purchase the stylus separately otherwise I would have rated it a 5.