Microsoft's Surface Book 2 is up for a redesign according to the latest rumors and its signature feature is one of the casualties. The upcoming Surface Book will no longer have that distinct and innovative 2-in-1 form factor. In other words, it will no longer have the detachable display. Instead, Microsoft will use the classic clamshell design.
Michael Passingham of Trusted Reviews believes that the move, while unfortunate, is necessary for the company to widen the appeal of the Surface Book. Passingham added that the expenditure for the unique design of the Surface Book is higher than that of the traditional clamshell resulting to a more expensive price tag. If Microsoft does adapt the traditional notebook design, the Surface Book 2 is expected to be available for only $1,000. In comparison, Surface Books in the market cost $1,499 to $3,199.
There is a possibility that the new Microsoft Surface Book 2, which will sport a 13.1-inch display similar to its predecessor, will come with the Windows 10 Creators Update as it is also rumored to be coming this April. However, the Surface Book 2 is supposedly already in mass production. DigiTimes also reported that shipments of the new devices will likely increase every month. In fact, sources say that an estimate of 1.2 to 1.5 million Surface Book 2 units this year. The same sources say believe that the demand for the existing Surface Book will improve and result to a 20 percent increase in 2017 which will total around 6 million units.
The Microsoft Surface Book 2 is expected to be launched at the end of this month or maybe even in April. One hint that the much-awaited Surface Book 2 will be unveiled soon is the recent price slash of current Surface Books including the Corei5 128GB model which dropped its price by $200. The said i5 variant can be had for only $1,299 down from $1,499. Microsoft also quietly unveiled a new Surface Book early this month. The new 2-in-1 convertible packs the 6th-gen Core i7 Skylake CPU along with 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD. Despite the high-end features, the updated Surface Book lacks a dedicated GPU which allowed Microsoft to lower its price to $2,999.
