Will there be a Surface Book 2

[Afy]

Seems like all of the Surface books without a performance base are sold out in the MS site or at most retailers like John Lewis. And even then all you can get are the i7 models.

So this begs the question.. will there be a SB2 coming out in the very near future? Or is the line dead as the proverbial dodo?

 

[Wiidesire]

My personal guess is it launches once Quad Core Coffee Lake U-Series CPUs are available.

 

[Exhile]

I'm guessing a SB2 is in the works and won't be revealed until October 2017.

 

[Cuchulainn]

According to a recent article in Forbes, they suggest that the Surface Book will become a traditional 13" clamshell, rather than compete with the Surface Pro. If this is true, perhaps it is the end of the line for the 2-1 Surface Book as we know it?

 

[hughlle]

According to a recent article in Forbes, they suggest that the Surface Book will become a traditional 13" clamshell, rather than compete with the Surface Pro. If this is true, perhaps it is the end of the line for the 2-1 Surface Book as we know it?

Maybe for the best. I loved the idea of the surface book, but there were just too many design faults (ports on clipboard, kickstand etc) which clearly seemed an effort to differentiate from the surface pro. Personally I think they should have just stuck the R&D money from the SB into offering a more functional version of the power cover to the SP line. I mean that is pretty much all the original SB was. A (flawed) surface with a battery cover.

 

[Afy]

The clamshell.. isn't that the Surface Laptop?
Personally I think not building a 2 in 1 follow on would be a sad thing.
I hope a new design is announced soon.

 

[Cuchulainn]

It seems, at least from that Forbes article, the goal is for the Surface Pro, to be the sole 2-1. That is of course, if the article is proven to be accurate.

It looks like the Surface Book would become an entry level 13.5" clamshell, aimed at students, etc. Which would lead me to wonder if that is the model that Microsoft would shift the focus of Windows 10s to as well, and transition the Surface Laptop to 10 Pro?

I tend to agree with hughlle, that the current version is flawed. So if they do keep it as a 2-1, contrary to the Forbes article, I hope there is a design overhaul and a rethinking of its positioning in the lineup.

It seems that they currently really don't know where to position the Surface Book, between the Pro and the Laptop.

 

[Afy]

I really do like the PD Book One.. but the reviews I have seen are pretty off putting. That is a design that would really do well as a model for SB2.

 

[Cuchulainn]

Have the reviews of the PD One been poor? I haven't been following them since the release. That sure is a beautiful design though.

 

[Afy]

Have the reviews of the PD One been poor? I haven't been following them since the release. That sure is a beautiful design though.

Unfortunately yes. I few people replied on this forum, and I think the verge did one recently as well.
Which is what stopped me from buying one.

 

[Cuchulainn]

Yeah, I know I mentioned something in the thread about how unfortunately only the design is German / Porche and likely only the externals at that. Otherwise manufactured in Taiwan by Quanta Computer. So, beneath that skin deep beauty and design, probably a rather generic design inside.

Seems doing a quick scan of various reviews, the problems are software/performance issues, screen is too heavy, sharp edges, pricey, too many players in an already crowded premium 2-1 market.

Edit: Which seems to be Microsoft's current problem with the Surface Book as well. It's thick, its heavy, it lacks ports and battery life as a stand alone tablet and they seem to have moved the position of the Surface Pro from "The tablet that can replace a laptop" to "The most versatile laptop." When all along it was probably "The laptop that could replace your tablet."

 

[Afy]

The software issues plague a lot of Win 10 machines including the SP and SB as well.

The screens on systems like the SB and BO are bound to be heavy since all of the guts of the system are in it. So I don't know why they make a big deal out of it. In reality while the edges on the BO are not rounded, they certainly aren't 'sharp' its like anything with an edge.

Weirdly there isn't a single user review or comment on Amazon either.