You can then dock the screen backwards for some impromptu presentations, or return to laptop mode when you need to type something longer than a Facebook post. Magnetic latches are released, and the display pops off into tablet mode. Software switches from the base’s dedicated graphics card to the built-in GPU behind the screen. With the screen clipped into place, it acts like a regular ol’ laptop, but hold down a keyboard button and the magic happens. Just like the first Surface Book, the sequel is all about that base. It’s hardly a surprise that bass is a weak point, but they get the job done for anything other than critical listening. The Surface Book 2 can make itself heard, too, with a decent set of speakers that pump out surprisingly loud audio for a tablet. For anything that doesn’t require absolute colour precision, we’d happily plonk down in front of this for a day of word-wrestling. Viewing angles are great, which is handy for something that will spend half its life in tablet mode. You don’t get fancy extras like HDR video support, either, even though you can crank the brightness up to eye-searing levels. Colour accuracy is up for debate, though – to our eyes, a MacBook Pro delivers more true-to-life images, especially when working with photos. Text is of course pin-sharp, and both images and video look stunning, with excellent contrast and vibrant colours.

You’ve got no chance of spotting the individual pixels unless you jam your nose against the screen. It doesn’t overreach with a 4K resolution, settling for 3000×2000 instead, but that is more than enough for image editing and video production, as well as web browsing and writing. It’s rocking a 13.5in panel with a 3:2 aspect ratio, which is ideal for working on two things side-by-side. Microsoft’s older Surface machines all shipped with gorgeous screens, and the Surface Book 2 is no different.

Windows surface book