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

Microsoft promises a lot with the new Surface Book 2. The 13.5-inch convertible is a really good device in some respects, but we are sometimes wondering why the manufacturer ignores known issues or waives modern standards. Let us begin with the good things.

high-quality case; very good screen without PWM; high performance; despite passive cooling; very long battery runtime; comfortable input devices; decent camera; often silent

very loud GPU fan (depending on the power setting; power adapter not always sufficient; no Thunderbolt 3; Surface Pen not included anymore; considerable throttling (especially CPU) on battery; display bounces during touch inputs; no LTE connectivity; basically impossible to maintain; long charging...

Microsoft wowed us when it introduced the original Surface Book and showcased its ability to produce innovative products that create entirely new PC categories. Watching the display tear off to become a usable tablet with active pen support felt like gazing into a time machine set firmly to the...

Excellent design and build quality; Awesome display; Incredible battery life; Decent entry-level gaming performance; Great keyboard and touchpad

Coil whine is excessive and obtrusive; Expensive compared to traditional convertibles; No Thunderbolt 3 support

Given that, unless you're an Apple loyalist or simply need macOS software for work, it's hard to argue against a touch-enabled, gaming-ready system with fantastic battery life that can also become a tablet at the press of a button.

Premium alloy construction; Elegant convertible design; Sharp high-resolution touch display in new larger size; Discrete Nvidia GTX 1060 graphics; Very long battery life; Multiple configuration options; Xbox wireless controller receiver is integrated

16GB RAM maximum; Surface Pen is an additional purchase; Adding SSD storage is pricey; Some finicky issues required troubleshooting in our tests

After a somewhat shaky start (excuse the pun), Microsoft's Surface Book has found its stride. The new and improved Book 2 retains all that was good about the original - including beautiful design, a versatile Clipboard and an excellent keyboard and trackpad - while introducing a handful of...

Beautiful design; Clipboard works a treat; Excellent keyboard and trackpad; Gorgeous 3:2 PixelSense display; Chart-topping battery life; Fanless base specification; Good range of accessories

Doesn't support Thunderbolt 3; Surface Pen not included

The computing device ecosystem, the stage we are at right now, is not exactly headed in one simple direction. There is demand for ultraportable devices which are convenient to carry around. Some users prefer the hybrid model, which gives the flexibility between a laptop and a tablet.

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.

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...

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

This is a really fun and powerful laptop to use. This is my first SSD laptop so I'm really pleased with the boot time and wake=up. The face recognition seems to work well. I don't have or use the pen but I am using a Microsoft Bluetooth mouse which was very simple to install.