Microsoft
Microsoft on Wednesday announced a refresh to its highest-end Surface Book laptop, called the Surface Book i7.
The 2-in-1 laptop is available for pre-order starting on Wednesday, and will be available sometime in November. It'll cost $2,399.
For that high price, Microsoft's Surface boss Panos Panay says the company has boosted the machine with twice as much graphics performance, and 30% more battery life.
The latter is the big selling point: Panay says Microsoft's built more batteries into the machine, purportedly allowing it to get up to 16 hours of juice (in its laptop mode, at least).
The rest of the device looks just about identical to the Surface Book Microsoft launched last year. That means it has the same magnesium alloy finish, flexible hinge, Surface Pen stylus, and detachable display we enjoyed before. Panay says the company did redesign the device's thermal system and add a second fan to help keep the device cool, though.
This update strictly applies to the highest-end model, which runs on Intel's top-level Core i7 processor. (Hence the name.) The lower-end models will still be available starting at $1,499 — Microsoft did not announce any price cut or specs refresh for those devices.
Microsoft did not explicitly specify if the Surface Book i7 uses one of Intel's new-generation Kaby Lake chips, but the claimed performance upgrades make that seem to be the case.
As always, it's worth taking a laptop maker's own performance estimates with a grain of salt. That said, Panay made it clear that the Surface Book i7 is the performance-level entry in the line, and as such is meant for professionals and creative types.
That falls in line with the rest of Microsoft's announcements at its Windows and Surface event on Wednesday, which focused on the forthcoming "Creators Update" to Windows 10, as well as a new Surface Studio all-in-one touchscreen PC.
The relatively minor update comes just a day before Apple is expected to announce a wholesale refresh of its competing MacBook Pro. That device is expected to feature a slimmer design and a new, touch-enabled function row.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
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