Typing at work on Microsoft's new 15-inch Surface Book 2 , I can't shake the feeling that this thing's not for me. Don't get me wrong, it's a powerful laptop, it's beautiful, and the workspace its giant screen affords made me completely forget I wasn't seated at my desk with my usual 34-inch...

Great performance; beautiful display

Big ideas that are more ambitious than useful

Great performance; beautiful display

Big ideas that are more ambitious than useful

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

This is an exceptional laptop that I have been completely blown away by how capable it is in relation to its size. Microsoft hows outdone themselves and created their best product yet. The screen is spectacular and I love the 3:2 aspect ratio, it works great for both tablet mode and laptop mode.

The Surface Book was an odd fish in a sea of 2-in-1 Surface wannabes. It was Microsoft's first attempt at building a proper laptop and it was good if a tad expensive. Now that the Surface Laptop is here, you might have forgiven Microsoft for conveniently shelving its ambitious detachable and...

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...

With prices starting at £1,500, this isn't a casual purchase – but with its detachable screen, this could be the best Windows 10 power-user laptop going

excellent keyboard; great trackpad; brilliant screen; great stylus; 9-hour battery; fancy hinge; great 2-in-1 compromise; USB A; full-sized SD and USB-C; Windows Hello; Surface Dial support; 8th generation Core i7 chips; discrete GPU

Windows still has tablet app gap; very expensive; relatively heavy; still a bit of play in the hinge; no Thunderbolt 3

Fantastic machine. Very pleased with the hardware and performance. One issue though, Microsoft's fault, is there is no printed visual accompanying the laptop showing what each connectors is. As a result, we bought the wrong connector to connect this to an external Monitor.

As a showcase of Microsoft's technological prowess, the Surface Book 2 is an unqualified marvel. The screen is near-flawless, and is a dream for artists, editors and cinephiles alike.

Excellent performance; Superb screen; Great keyboard

Expensive; Surprisingly bulky; Poor battery life

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