Why I Love My Microsoft Surface Book
So in case you don’t know yet, I’m a huge fan of tech. I definitely can geek out on all the new devices, computers, phones, apps, etc. Today, I wanted to share my love for the Surface Book. this link is for the Surface Book 2, it’s the updated, better version
So without climbing into too deep of a back story here, this was the device I had waited for forever since they came out with the iPad. I remember thinking that iPads are cool and I definitely think they have their place in the world, but I still think you need a laptop to really put in some work and I always wondered, how cool would it be if they could put those two concepts into one?
When the original surface came out, that was almost it. It was a tablet, it came with a detachable keyboard, you could connect accessories to it, it was so close. I held off but got in on the Surface 2 which had glimpses of greatness, but wasn’t quite there. It had the limited RT software which didn’t allow you to download anything to it and that really killed it’s existence. And then they intro’d the Surface Book — the device of my dreams! That was such a sick day, what a dope device. I saved up my dough and that was going to be it, that was the device that I could really work with and get into, it just gets me!
Bouncing into some actual logic now instead of just my romanticism…
Everyday Experience
This isn’t a new device for me, so I don’t want this to come off like a new product review since Microsoft just came out with the Surface Book 2,this post is a little past it’s time but still helpful, imo. I’ll go through and share my experience with it in different settings and tell you my overall thoughts about how it’s worked for me.
I’ve had the original Surface Book for just over two years and have barely seen any type of decline with the performance. My general workflow on a regular basis requires me to have two browsers open with at least seven tabs in each window, minimum of five apps running the entire day (apps like Spotify, Mail, OneNote, Calendar, Slack, Trello, Office among some others), and on top of that, I’m constantly changing my work station from a stationary desk with an external monitor to remote locations depending on my preference and meetings I’m attending.
With all these apps and activities, the Surface Book seriously handles it brilliantly. I’m rocking the base model with a Core i5, 128GB SSD and 8GB Ram and it has seriously been nice guys, a very solid experience. I have noticed that with the amount of programs I’m running and the battery setting pushed to performance rather than balance, battery life is shortened to four hours, but still pretty solid considering what I’m doing with it. When working on the ‘balanced’ battery option, battery lasted about 6 hours with performance only noticeably slower with bigger programs like Photoshop and Premier; it still ran my other main programs very nicely though.
From the view of a general everyday device, it’s been really solid. Updates are usually taken care of after hours so it doesn’t disrupt the day — unless I push a few of them through ;) The keyboard has held up really nicely with the keys still firm with a great bounce back, one of the best keyboards that I’ve been on. The only one that’s better is the Surface Bluetooth keyboard that you can get, such an awesome feel to it. I usually have headphones in, but if I do play through the speakers, they sound nice.
The screen has held up great, especially considering that you can disconnect it to use as a tablet, which I do pretty often. I’ve never experienced any problems with the touchscreen, it is so smooth and fluid to go from touchpad and keyboard to touchscreen to Surface Pen use, it’s actually really remarkable and something I’ve gotten so used to that if I didn’t have it, yeah I know I’d be okay, but I’d be a little upset.
Speaking about the Pen input, it’s insane how seamless that experience is. I don’t completely use it for all handwritten notes because there’s something still artistic and nice about pen and paper that I think I’ll always enjoy, but I LOVE having the option to write and draw on my screen and to use with a growing amount of apps to express creativity and use these tools as they grow for the future. This feature alone, not holding me back from a lot of creative opportunities with documents, notes, doodles, and just to have my own unique handwriting that I can mark across different content, it’s tight to have. You’ll understand when you get there…
A Few Cons
As great as I think this device is, there are a few things that are just so lagging behind that I can’t overlook them. Personally, I think my biggest problem is the lack of phone interaction I’m able to have. There’s no way to text, it’s difficult to transfer experiences that you’re using on the laptop to your phone and vice versa. And actually, the overall device connectivity experience hasn’t been stellar with the exception of Bluetooth accessories which connect like a dream. AirPlay screen sharing from a Mac still dominates this computer’s experience. Being so disconnected from some type of cohesive phone experience seems so outdated to me and something that I hope Microsoft starts to focus more heavily on.
If the Surface Book was able to solve this connectivity problem, it would round out what is otherwise such a legit, forward thinking device that is almost ahead of it’s time and is really carving out the future of what devices look, feel and act like.
Final Thoughts
I’m a huge fan of the Surface line, and this device in particular. I think Microsoft killed it and it shows how focused they are on creating devices for the future for students, creative professionals, business professionals and even personal computing. This line has helped Microsoft take a huge leap ahead in the device space and it feels like this is just the beginning of much more to come.
If you’re in the market for a new laptop, please at least play around with one of these for ten minutes; I promise it will be worth your time. If the Surface Book isn’t quite you’re thing, they have other devices that have a little different experience to appeal to different styles, the Surface Pro which is primarily a tablet with a keyboard attachment and great options for performance. And also the newer Surface Laptop which is similar to the Surface Book but doesn’t allow the screen to detach. It still has a touch screen, is light, with great performance options as well.
Thanks for checking out this post, I hope you found something valuable that can help when you’re shopping for a new laptop/tablet. Let me know if you have any questions — Love to hear your comments or you can reach me at my contact info and on my social channels.
And in case you’re wondering — yes, I totally wrote this post on my Surface Book. Peace out!
About Me —My name is Trevor Sean and I share my thoughts on tech devices and apps, so if you dig the style and insight, consider following! I’ll be writing posts about all things tech: reviews, guides, things I’m excited for, thoughts on the industry, and whatever else comes to mind. Thank you again!
