Surface Book 2 specs and features

Surface Book 2 diagram and features

Picture of a Surface Books with call out numbers identifying the SD™ card reader, the USB 3.0, the Rear-facing camera, the Power button, Volume, Windows Hello with face sign-in, the Front-facing camera, the Headset jack, the Detach key, the Surface Connect, and the USB-C.

SDXC™ card reader
USB 3.0
Rear-facing camera
Power button
Volume
Windows Hello with face sign-in
Front-facing camera
Headset jack
Detach key
Surface Connect
USB-C

Surface Book 2 and Windows 10

Surface Book 2 comes with Windows 10 Pro edition. For Surface Book 2 models that have the 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U or i7-8650U processor only, you can upgrade your Surface Book 2 from Windows 10 to Windows 11. For more info, see Which Surface devices can be upgraded to Windows 11?

Surface Book 2 tips

If you just got a new Surface Book, congrats! Here are a few tips to get you started.

Side view picture of an open Surface Book 2 Hero.

Detach the display for four different modes

Surface Book is a versatile laptop, a powerful tablet, and a portable studio that adapts to the ways you work and create.

How to detach the display

Press and hold the Detach key until the light on the key turns green and you see the Ready to Detach message on the screen. Then pull the display off of the keyboard.

Now you can put Surface Book in any mode, depending on what you want to do.

Picture of the Surface Book 2 screen being pulled up and detached from the keyboard.

Use Surface Book as a tablet

Surface Book is a tablet that you can take anywhere. Just press and hold the Detach key on the keyboard, remove the display, and you’re ready to go.

Picture of Surface Book 2 being held in Tablet mode.

Tip: If you’re traveling and don’t need the keyboard, just bring the display and your power cord. There’s a power charging port on the bottom center of the display. Just be sure to protect the screen with a padded case or some other sort of protection if you’re not bringing the keyboard along.

Watch movies and share photos in View Mode

View Mode is perfect for when you want to:

Binge watch your favorite show.
Share photos at a family gathering.
Present ideas to a few colleagues or classmates.
Follow a recipe you found online.
Play Xbox games with an Xbox wireless controller (learn more about playing games on Surface).

To put Surface Book into View Mode, first press and hold the Detach key on the keyboard to remove the display. Flip the screen around, line up the tabs on the keyboard to the slots on the display, and press the display down. It’ll lock into place and you’ll see an Attached message on the screen.

Picture of a hands opening a Surface Book 2 while in View mode.

The keyboard is now a stable stand for the display for hands-free watching.

Sketch, write, and create naturally in Studio Mode

With Surface Book in View Mode, fold the display down so you have a horizontal surface to write on. Use touch or Surface Pen to draw or take notes, just like on paper. And if you want a truly immersive creative experience, add Surface Dial.

Side view picture of a Surface Book 2 screen being opened in Studio mode.

Get more info on how to use your Surface Pen

Use Surface Book as a laptop

Above view picture of an open Surface Book 2.

Of course, Surface Book 2 is a powerful laptop—it runs professional-grade software with high-speed Intel processors, blazing NVIDIA graphics, lighting-fast storage, and delivers up to 17 hours of battery life, so you can get things done.

Write and draw naturally with Surface Pen

Surface Pen is the perfect accessory for Surface Book. Take notes in meetings or class, draw, and edit Word documents. Make a mistake? Flip it over and use the eraser. Surface Pen attaches magnetically to the side of your screen, so it’s ready whenever you are.

Picture of the Surface Pen.

Sketch and draw

With precision ink, tilt for shading, and virtually no lag, Surface Pen is perfect for anyone, from graphic designers to avid doodlers. To try it out, click the top button on Surface Pen once to open Windows Ink Workspace, then select Sketchpad and start drawing. Surface Pen also works with professional graphics software too.

Sketchpad and ruler

Edit Word documents

Use Surface Pen to edit and add comments to Word documents.

Picture of the Surface Pen marking up a document.

Here’s how:

Select text Select Draw > Ink Editor, then use Surface Pen to circle a word, phrase, or paragraph, then cut, copy, or paste.
Delete text Select Draw > Ink Editor, then use Surface Pen to draw a diagonal line through words, phrases, or paragraphs.
Highlight text Select Draw > Highlighter, then use Surface Pen to select the text for perfect highlighting.
Replay pen strokes Select Draw > Ink Replay to see a replay of all of the markups people have made in the document.

Remember with a Sticky Note

Click and hold the top button on Surface Pen to open Sticky Notes, then jot down reminders, to-do lists, phone numbers, or anything else you want to remember.

Reminders from Sticky Notes

Take a screenshot, then draw on it

Click the top button twice to take a screenshot and it’ll open automatically in Screen sketch, where you can draw on the picture or add notes – perfect when you want to share something you find online or doodle on a friend’s profile picture.

Resume a previous screen sketch

Erase just like a pencil

Flip Surface Pen over and use the top button to erase.

Customize the Surface Pen top button

Select Start > Settings > Devices > Pen & Windows Ink. Under Pen shortcuts, choose the app you want to open when you click or double click the top button.

Connect all of your devices with USB-C

Surface Book 2 has USB-C for charging devices, transferring files, and displaying your video on external monitors.

The USB-C to HDMI and USB-C to VGA adapters are perfect for when you want to share pictures or videos on a larger screen.

USB-C to HDMI adapter

Picture of the USB-C HDMI adapter with a USB cable curved next to it.

USB-C to VGA adapter

Picture of the USB-C VGA adapter with a USB cable curved next to it.

Surface accessories help

Transform into a desktop workstation with Surface Dock

Plug in the Surface Dock to charge your Surface Book and use two external 4K monitors, a keyboard, mouse, printer, and more.

Surface Dock

More info about Surface Dock

Want more tips?

You can open Tips, which is on your Surface. Select Start, then select Tips from the list of apps. More info about Tips

Picture of the Tips Apps screen.

Surface Book 2 Tech specs


Dimensions	Surface Book 2 13.5" i5: 12.3" x 9.14" x 0.51"-0.90" (312 mm x 232 mm x 13 mm-23 mm) i7: 12.3" x 9.14" x 0.59"-0.90" (312 mm x 232 mm x 15 mm-23 mm) Surface Book 2 15" 13.5" x 9.87" x 0.568-0.90" (343 mm x 251 mm x 15 mm-23 mm)
Display	Surface Book 2 13.5” PixelSense™ Display Screen: 13.5” PixelSense™ Display Resolution: 3000 x 2000 (267 PPI) Aspect ratio: 3:2 Contrast ratio: 1600:1 Touch: 10 point multi-touch G5 Surface Book 2 15” PixelSense™ Display Screen: 15” PixelSense™ Display Resolution: 3240 x 2160, (260 PPI) 10 point multi-touch G5 Aspect ratio: 3:2 Contrast ratio: 1600:1
Memory	Surface Book 2 13.5” 8GB or 16GB RAM 1866Mhz LPDDR3 Surface Book 2 15” 16GB RAM 1866Mhz LPDDR3
Processor	Surface Book 2 13.5” 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U dual-core processor, 3.5GHz Max Turbo 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U quad-core processor, 3.6GHz Max Turbo 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U quad-core processor, 4.2GHz Max Turbo Surface Book 2 15” 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U quad-core processor, 3.6GHz Max Turbo 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U quad-core processor, 4.2GHz Max Turbo
Security	HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
Software	Book 2 Windows 10 Pro Creators Update 64-bit Microsoft 365 30-day trial Book 2 for Business Windows 10 Pro Creators Update 64-bit Microsoft 365 30-day trial
Sensors	Ambient light sensor Proximity sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer
What's in the box	Surface Book 2 13.5” PixelSense™ Display 44W (integrated GPU) or 102W (discrete GPU) Surface Power Supply w/USB-A (5W) charging port Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documentsSurface Book 2 15” PixelSense™ Display 102W Surface Power Supply w/USB-A (5W) charging port Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Weight	Surface Book 2 13.5” PixelSense™ Display Intel® Core™ i5: 3.38 lbs (1,534 g) including keyboard Intel® Core™ i7: 3.62 lbs (1,642 g) including keyboard Surface Book 215” PixelSense™ Display Intel® Core™ i7: 4.20 lbs (1,905 g) including keyboard
Storage ²	Solid state drive (SSD) options: 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB PCIe SSD
Battery Life	Up to 17 hours of video playback¹
Graphics	Surface Book 2 13.5” PixelSense™ Display Intel® HD Graphics 620 integrated GPU (on Intel® i5-7300U model) Intel® HD Graphics 620 integrated GPU (on Intel® i5-8350U model) NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 discrete GPU w/2GB GDDR5 graphics memory (on Intel® i7-8650U models) Surface Book 2 15” PixelSense™ Display Intel® HD Graphics 620 integrated GPU (on Intel® i5-8350U model) NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 discrete GPU w/6GB GDDR5 graphics memory
Connections	2 x USB type-A (version 3.1 Gen 1) 1 x USB type-C (version 3.1 Gen 1 with USB Power Delivery revision 3.0) 3.5mm headphone jack 2 x Surface Connect ports Full-size SDXC card reader (UHS-I / UHS-II) Compatible with Surface Dial* on- and off-screen interaction
Cameras, video, and audio	Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing) 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video Dual microphones Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Support for Windows Sonic for Headphones
Wireless	Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology Xbox Wireless built-in (15” only)
Exterior	Casing: Magnesium Color: Silver Physical buttons: Volume, Power
Warranty	1-year limited hardware warranty

* Microsoft 365, Surface Pen, and some software and accessories sold separately.

[1] Surface Book 2 battery life:  Surface Book 2 13.5”: Up to 17 hours of video playback. Testing conducted by Microsoft in October 2017 using preproduction Intel® Core™ i5, 256GB, 8 GB RAM device. Testing consisted of full battery discharge during video playback. All settings were default except: Wi-Fi was associated with a network and Auto-Brightness disabled. Battery life varies significantly with settings, usage and other factors.  Surface Book 2 15”: Up to 17 hours of video playback. Testing conducted by Microsoft in October 2017 using preproduction Intel® Core™ i7, 512GB, 16 GB RAM dGPU device. Testing consisted of full battery discharge during video playback. All settings were default except: Wi-Fi was associated with a network and Auto-Brightness disabled. Battery life varies significantly with settings, usage and other factors. 

[2] System software uses significant storage space. Available storage is subject to change based on system software updates and apps usage. 1 GB= 1 billion bytes. See Surface.com/Storage for more details.

"Most powerful Surface laptop" claim refers to processing power.

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