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The evolution of mobile computing has been rather odd when you look back at it. First came the laptop, freeing us from our cubicle prisons and introducing the idea of working on your commute. When laptops proved too bulky for many people, the humble mobile phone stepped up in the form of the smartphone, giving us 24/7 access to the Internet from a device small enough to fit in our pockets. Of course, the limited real estate of a phone screen was always going to hold it back from keeping pace with the desktop world, and so the tablet was born: a compromise between size and power that promised to be the only device you ever needed.
As successful as iPads and other tablets have been, they've never quite lived up to that lofty promise. Typing on a virtual keyboard is rarely a pleasant experience, and the lack of peripheral support and reduced power have relegated tablets to casual devices incapable of the versatility of a full-blown laptop.
This is where 2-in-1s come in. Combining the portability of a tablet with the increased grunt and physical keyboard of a laptop, 2-in-1s are aimed squarely at those who want the flexibility to enjoy the best of both worlds at their whim.
Up until now, 2-in-1s have been held back by the same constraints of all portable technology, sacrificing the computing power of their bulkier brethren in order to remain light and luggable. Not so with Microsoft's new Surface Book 2. Packing hardware on par with high-end graphics-editing and gaming laptops, the Surface Book 2 promises to deliver uncompromising performance whether you're sketching designs in tablet mode, watching 4K videos while lounging on the couch or playing the latest games on its sleek 13.5-inch screen. What's really surprising, though, is it actually delivers on those promises, establishing itself as the clear leader in the 2-in-1 space.
Still, if you're after one device to take care of all your digital needs, there's nothing out there that can compete with the Surface Book 2's unification of power and portability. The world of 2-in-1s has a new king.
If there's one area where the Surface Book 2 falters, it's the price. Combining performance with portability doesn't come cheap, and you'll be looking at a cool $4499 for the top-of-the-line model with all the bells and whistles. That said, if you're happy to offload storage space onto an external hard drive, $3799 will get you the exact same model with just a slightly-smaller 512GB SSD. Less-demanding users can save even more by opting for the 256GB model with 8GB of RAM for $2999, or sacrifice the dedicated graphics card for the i5-7300U model with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for $2199.
No matter which configuration you go for, it's clear that you're paying a premium for portability. Dedicated laptops like the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 or the MSI Stealth GS63 share similar specs to the top-end Surface Book 2, yet either one will only set you back around $2000. A $2500 premium for the mobility of a 2-in-1 is a lot to ask, regardless of how impressive the technical accomplishment of cramming so much power into a tiny tablet is.
Optimise your performance with the powerhouse Surface Book 2, now available at Microsoft Store.
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