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Surface Laptop 2 vs. Surface Book 2 - Detailed Specs Comparison

Here's what you need to know what's different between Surface Laptop 2 and Surface Book 2 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

BY Evan Forrest November 19, 2023

Surface Laptop 2 vs. Surface Book 2

The 2018 Surface Laptop 2 features the 15W 8th Generation Intel Kaby Lake R quad-core Intel Core i5-8250U up to quad-core Intel Core i7-8650U with the boost speed up to 4.20 GHz. While the 2017 Surface Book 2 features the 15W 7th Generation Intel Kaby Lake dual-core Intel Core i5-7300U up to quad-core Intel Core i7-8650U with the boost speed up to 4.20 GHz.

If you are in the market looking for a laptop and don't know what's the difference between the 13.5″ Surface Laptop 2 (2018) and the 13.5″ Surface Book 2 (2017), we have a detailed tech specs comparison between both devices for you to check out here.

Surface Laptop 2 vs. Surface Book 2: Specs Comparison

	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Laptop 2 See at Amazon	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Surface Book 2 See at Amazon
Key Features
What's new	Better performance It’s now 85 percent faster than the original Surface Laptop. New color Now available in Platinum, Burgundy, Cobalt Blue, and the new Matte Black. Better price $999 for quad-core Intel Core i5, 8GB of RAM, 128 GB SSD, and Windows 10 Home.	Performance Info Up to 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U (4-Core, up to 4.20Ghz w/Turbo Boost) Up to NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 (6GB GDDR5) Up to 1TB SSD Up to 16GB (1866Mhz LPDDR3 RAM) Up to 17 hours of battery life New Size Now available in 15-inch with the same beautiful PixelSense display. Better Performance Surface Book 2 has up to 5 times more graphics performance than the original Surface Book. Longer Battery Life Lasts up to 17 hours. USB-C Allows you to charge, transfer data, and video out. More Features Updated hinge design for reducing screen wobbling. Supports the latest Surface Pen with 4096 levels of pressure. Supports Surface Dial on-screen interaction. Xbox Wireless built-in (15-inch only).
What's missing	Graphite Gold is no longer available Windows 10 Pro isn't available for consumers	MiniDisplay port replaced with a USB-C port

Availability	Surface Laptop 2	Surface Book 2
Released	2018	2017
Release Info	Introduced: October 2, 2018 Pre-ordered: October 2, 2018 Released: October 16 2018	Introduced: October 17, 2017 Pre-ordered: November 9, 2017 Released: November 16, 2017
Pricing	Starting at 999$	Surface Book 2 13.5”: Starting at 1,149$ Surface Book 2 15”: Starting at 1,999$

Surface Laptop 2 Price
	Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 Touchscreen Intel i5-8250U 8GB RAM 128GB SSD Win 10 (Renewed) By Microsoft $241.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop 2, 13.5" (2256 x 1504) Touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U Up to 4.2GHz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Windows 10 Home (Renewed) By Microsoft $329.99	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - Cobalt (Renewed) By Microsoft $449.00	See at Amazon
Surface Book 2 Price
	Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - 13.5in (Renewed) By Microsoft $212.75 $243.00 12% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Book 2 13.5" (Intel Core i7, 16GB RAM, 512 GB) By Microsoft $450.00 $799.99 44% OFF	See at Amazon
	Microsoft Surface Book 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB) - 13.5in (Renewed) By Microsoft $324.00	See at Amazon

Display	Surface Laptop 2	Surface Book 2
Size	13.5 Inches
Info	Display Resolution: 2256 x 1504 (3.4M Pixels) Display Density: 201 PPI PixelSense™ Display Aspect ratio: 3:2 Inking: designed together with Surface Pen Touch: 10 points multi-touch Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 10nm Oleophobic Coating 100% sRGB color, individually calibrated	Surface Book 2 13.5” Display Resolution: 3000 x 2000 (6M Pixels) Display Density: 267 PPI Surface Book 2 15” Display Resolution: 3240 x 2160 (7M Pixels) Display Density: 260 PPI PixelSense™ Display Aspect ratio: 3:2 Contrast ratio: 1600:1 Inking: designed together with Surface Pen Touch: 10 points multi-touch

Exterior	Surface Laptop 2	Surface Book 2
Size Comparison
Dimensions	12.13” x 8.79” x 0.39-0.57” (308.02 mm x 223.2 mm x 9.93 mm-14.47 mm) Width: 12.13” (308.02 mm) Depth: 8.79” (223.2 mm) Height: 0.39 - 0.57” (9.93 - 14.47 mm)	Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i5) 12.3” x 9.1” x 0.51”-0.90” (312 mm x 232 mm x 13 mm-23 mm). Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core 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 0.57”-0.90” (343 mm x 251 mm x 15 mm-23 mm).
Weight	Intel Core i5 › 2.76 lbs (1.26 kg) Intel Core i7 › 2.83 lbs (1.28 kg)	Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i5) Total: 3.38 lbs (1,533 g) Tablet: 1.59 lbs (719 g) Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i7) Total: 3.62 lbs (1,642 g) Tablet: 1.59 lbs (719 g) Surface Book 2 15” Total: 4.20 lbs (1,905 g) Tablet: 1.80 lbs (817 g)
Colors	Black Platinum Burgundy Cobalt Blue	Platinum
Keyboard and Trackpad	Keyboard: Full-size backlit keyboard with the soft-touch feel and full 1.5mm travel. Large palm rest with premium Alcantara® material for maximized typing comfort. Trackpad: Larger size 105 mm x 70 mm, glass. Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.	Keyboard: Full-size mechanical backlit keyset with 1.55mm travel. Mechanical friction attaches the Clipboard to the keyboard. Trackpad: Larger size 105 mm x 70 mm, glass. Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.
Ports	1 x Full-size USB 3.0 1 x Surface Connect™ Supports charging and docking station. 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1 x Headset jack	2 x Full-size USB 3.1 Gen 1 1 x USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 1 Supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort. 2 x Surface Connect™ 1 in tablet, 1 in keyboard base, both supports charging and docking. 1 x Headset jack 1 x Full-size SDXC card reader UHS-II Performance

Internal Specs	Surface Laptop 2	Surface Book 2
Processor	8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8250U 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.60 → 3.40 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.70 → 3.60 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.90 → 4.20 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W	7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U 2 cores, 4 threads, 2.60 → 3.50 GHz, 3MB SmartCache, 15W 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.70 → 3.60 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U 4 cores, 8 threads, 1.90 → 4.20 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
Integrated Graphics	8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8250U Intel® UHD Graphics 620 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U Intel® UHD Graphics 620 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U Intel® UHD Graphics 620 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1150 MHz	7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300U Intel® HD Graphics 620 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U Intel® UHD Graphics 620 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U Intel® UHD Graphics 620 24 Execution Units, 300 → 1150 MHz
Discrete Graphics		Surface Book 2 13.5” NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Pascal Architecture, 2GB GDDR5 128-bit, 1354 → 1493 MHz, 640 CUDA Cores. Surface Book 2 15” NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 Pascal Architecture, 6GB GDDR5 192-bit, 1404 → 1670 MHz, 1280 CUDA Cores.
Memory	8GB 16GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Storage	128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB Soldered BGA PCIe SSD	128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB PCIe SSD

Connectivity	Surface Laptop 2	Surface Book 2
Wi-Fi	Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
Bluetooth	Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology
		Surface Book 2 15” Only: Xbox Wireless built-in

Battery	Surface Laptop 2	Surface Book 2
Size	45.2 Wh	Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i5) Total: 69Wh Clipboard: 18Wh Base: 51Wh Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i7) Total: 75.3Wh Clipboard: 18Wh Base: 57.3Wh Surface Book 2 15” Total: 90Wh Clipboard: 23Wh Base: 67Wh
Battery Life	Up to 14.5 hours of typical device usage	Up to 17 hours of video playback Up to 5 hours in tablet mode
Power Supply	44W proprietary power supply USB-A output: 5W Surface Connect output: 39W	Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i5) 44W power supply with USB-A (5W) charging port. Surface Book 2 13.5” (Core i7) 100W power supply with USB-A (5W) charging port. Surface Book 2 15” 102W power supply with USB-A 7.5W) charging port.

Software	Surface Laptop 2	Surface Book 2
OS	For Consumer: Windows 10 Home For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro Free upgrade to Windows 11	Windows 10 Pro (Creators Update) Free upgrade to Windows 11
Built-in Apps	Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial

Camera & Audio	Surface Laptop 2	Surface Book 2
Camera	Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing) 720p HD front-facing video camera	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
Audio	Dual microphones OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium	Dual microphones Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium Support for Windows Sonic for Headphones Support for Dolby® Atmos for Headphones

Misc	Surface Laptop 2	Surface Book 2
Inking	Supports Surface Pen 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency	Supports Surface Pen 4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel 0.1mm precision
Sensors	Ambient light sensor	Ambient light sensor Proximity sensor Accelerometer Gyroscope Magnetometer
Security	HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box	Surface Laptop 2 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents	Surface Book 2 Power supply Quick Start Guide Safety and warranty documents
Warranty	One-year limited hardware warranty Commercial: Advanced Exchange warranty service with expedited device replacement	One-year limited hardware warranty
More	Supports Surface Dial Supports off-screen interaction only	Supports Surface Dial Supports both on-screen and off-screen interaction.