The Microsoft Surface Book - It's Coming For You Apple

Since Ultrabooks have come on the market a few years ago they've been paving the way for exceptional computing experiences. Apple, likely the most popular and originator of the Ultrabook style laptop has been a leader in creating some of the most popular computers to date. Sure there have been some fantastic PC competitors like the Samsung Ativ 9, the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro, and the HP Spectre x360. Don't get me wrong but each of these have had their own set of personal issues that include hardware defects, bloatware, and manufacturer locked updates.There's been nothing seamless and fluid in the PC world that gives us the experience so many users have been craving for years. Especially when we hear those Mac users yelp over the simplicity and ease of use of their products. Then in July 2015 Windows 10 drops on the market with over 131+ million conversions from the failed Windows 8.1. Certainly Windows 10 itself has also had it's own batch of issues with each different type of computer, but that was honestly to be expected with any kind of new OS release. Microsoft at this point seemed to be reshaping itself to put another footprint on the market and we already know that it definitely wasn't going to be with a Lumia device. With so many failed attempts in the past it was a really daunting endeavor as I feel that most people had started to lose faith in the company.

Now here we are on 10/06/2015 with Microsoft holding a keynote event to talk about the new release of products. The event started off with some interesting products like the new high ticket HoloLense which turns any space you are in into a 3D gaming environment. This was followed by the new Microsoft Band which is geared towards those with an active lifestyle and had many improvements from the earlier version. Next up was the new flagship Lumia phones the 950 and 950XL running Windows 10 that showcased the Windows 10 continuum which basically allows your phone (with the use of a proprietary dock) act as an almost fully functional laptop. It wasn't until the very end when they started talking about the Surface Pro 4 that my attention was fully taken. Even still it wasn't the Surface Pro 4 that got me excited partly because we all knew that this device was coming. Don't get me wrong the specs in that were incredibly different than the Pro 3 and many improvements were made to it iunder the hood all the way down to the new universal typecover for both the Pro 3 and 4. However it was what was announced after the Surface Pro 4 jump that really had me chomping at the bit. Today the first ever laptop from Microsoft called the Surface Book was revealed and behind it are monster specs that are going to properly rival if not exceed beyond the Macbook Pro.

The Microsoft Surface Book is going to forever change productivity and set a new standard for computing. Let's take a look at some of the tech specs of this monster:

Tech Specs:

• 13.5" PixelSense Display - Microsoft's newest
• 3000 x 2000 (267 PPI) - 6 Million Pixels
• 10 Point Fully Functional Multi-Touch
• Up to 1TB SSD (Solid State Drive)
• 6th Gen. Intel Core i5 to i7
• Intel HD Graphics 520
• NVIDIA GeForce GPU
• Up to 12 Hours of Video Playback
• 8gb or 16gb RAM
• Two Full-Size USB 3.0 ports
• Full-Size SD Card Reader
• 3.5mm Headset Jack
• Mini Display Port
• 5MP Front Facing Camera & 8MP Back Camera w/1080p HD Recording
• Dual Microphones & Front Facing Stereo Speakers with Dolby audio.
• Ambient Light Sensor, Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer
• 802.11ac WiFi Networking (a/b/g/n compatible)
• Bluetooth 4.0
• 3.34lbs total weight
• Seamless Magnesium Body
• Best-In-Class Keystroke for the most comfortable typing experience.
• Back-lit Keys
• Whisper Quiet Typing
• 5 Point Touch Glass Trackpad
• Dynamic Fulcrum Hinge
• Detachable display with 2 modes of attachment allowing you to use it as a tablet by itself or reattached in tablet mode to the GPU in the keyboard.
• Includes Microsoft Surface Pen
• Starts at $1499 for the i5/8gb RAM/128gb to $2699 for the i7/16gb RAM/512gb SSD with 5 different configurations total.

Microsoft is making many claims with the Surface Book calling it the fastest 13" laptop ever made. The Surface Book is being claimed to be 2x faster than the Macbook Pro with it's 6th Gen Intel and NVIDIA GPU. The unit is beautifully designed with exceptional quality, we can really hope to see this product fly off the shelves.

The release of the Surface Book comes with many people wondering how this is going to change the industry. The truth of the matter is that it won't make a major change but it will definitely set a new standard in tech specs for each release of the Surface Book and its competitors. For years we have waited for some sort of competition for Apple and Microsoft was merely waiting patiently for the right things to happen. Sure they have had their shortcomings with their mobile devices and that may have done more bad than good in getting the right market ready for the release of the Surface Book. However I believe that staying in their lane of computing will do them pretty well. It is safe to say that Apple succeeds exceedingly well because they control both the hardware and the OS, which means streamlined fine tuned devices that work with little hiccups. Now that Microsoft has stepped its foot into the arena with its first ever laptop the Surface Book we can definitely expect to see the same type of quality computers rollout for the same reasons of controlling the OS plus the hardware.

The only aspect left for Microsoft to really fine tune is its Lumia line. Being a Windows phone user on last years flagship and seeing the new releases this year I can frankly say that I'm just a little impressed. If Microsoft can really utilize the Windows 10 continuum to bridge the gap between computing and mobile productivity then they will definitely see a rise in proprietary users. Now this doesn't mean that we won't see great devices come out of leading companies like Samsung, HP, Dell, or Lenovo, they just don't have that same control of both the OS and the hardware. What it does mean is that we have a chance to see Microsoft rise to the bar that has already been set in place by Apple. The Surface Book is only the beginning for Microsoft and while it may be better than it's rival the Macbook Pro, only marketing efforts and sales will be the real determining factor.