Microsoft demonstrated with the Surface Book 2 that it was capable of directly competing with the MacBook Pro with a potent and genuinely unique PC laptop. That was, however, three years ago. What direction may Microsoft take the Surface Book 3 in next? For starters, it now has some contemporary hardware, including updated NVIDIA graphics and processors from Intel's 10th generation. But sadly, that's pretty much all you'll see.
The 13.5-inch and 15-inch Surface Book 3 laptops are identical to the previous models in terms of appearance, and there aren't any particularly noteworthy new features. The display can still be used as a very large tablet, mounted rearward on the keyboard base, or popped out with the press of a button. Additionally, their touchscreens continue to be ideal partners for the Surface Pen, making them beneficial for artists and anybody else who needs a handy stylus.
I understand why Microsoft didn't want to make many changes. The Surface Book 2 was a stunning and well-made computer. It reduced the size of the case a little bit and improved the old model's clumsy hinge. Microsoft, meanwhile, isn't doing much to compete with cutting-edge PC models like ASUS' ZenBook Pro Duo and Zephyrus G14 gaming computer by remaining stationary. Both models are still a little heavier than the newest MacBook Pros (3.38 pounds for the 13.5-inch Surface Book 3 and 4.2 pounds for the 15-inch, vs Apple's 3.1 and 4 pounds). Additionally, there is still an irritating gap around the hinge.
Stats first: Either the Intel Core i5-1035G7 CPU with integrated Iris Plus graphics or the i7-1065G7 CPU with GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q graphics power the 13.5-inch Surface Book 3. Seeing quad-core CPUs at this stage is somewhat disappointing, especially considering that Dell managed to include a six-core chip in the XPS 13 from the previous year. Even the 13-inch MacBook Pro this year is constrained to quad-core processors, so Microsoft is in good company.
With the ability to upgrade to NVIDIA's Quadro RTX 3000 GPU, the 15-inch Book 3 ships with a Core i7 CPU and an NVIDIA GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q GPU. Microsoft struggles a little bit here because it is up against Apple's obscenely powerful 16-inch MacBook Pro, which comes with six-core and eight-core CPUs. Even with the availability of Quadro graphics, anyone looking for the highest power available will find it difficult to choose Book 3. Even the most recent Dell XPS 15 may be set up with a six-core CPU!
Microsoft's desire to turn the Surface Book 3 into a tablet naturally places it in a more constrained position than other PC manufacturers. Therefore, the CPU must be housed inside the detachable display, and the dedicated graphics must be located in the keyboard base. Nobody in the competition has to deal with such restrictions. Microsoft has undoubtedly employed some creative engineering to make the Book 3 conceivable, but if it hopes to compete with true workhorse PCs, it will require a completely new architecture that can accommodate speedier CPUs.
On the good side, Microsoft claims its new SSDs are substantially quicker than before, and you can finally customize both models with 32GB of RAM. The business also says that you may anticipate 17.5 hours of battery life (the Book 2 lasted nearly 21 hours with our benchmark, so we might see even more).
A 13.5-inch Surface Book 3 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage starts at $1,600, while a bigger variant with 16GB of RAM costs $2,300. (In contrast, the starting prices for the 13-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros are, respectively, $1,300 and $2,400.) Both Surface Book 3 variants are now available for pre-order; on May 21st, they will be available for purchase.
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