Microsoft Surface Book 13.5" Surface Book 2 Silver 2018 Review

The Surface Book 2 is a head-turning hybrid that's still fun to use, but its ancient processor, pathetic tablet battery, and sketchy refurb quality mean you better buy it cheap and keep expectations low. If you're after a real laptop, spend your $400 somewhere else, because this thing limps where modern machines sprint.

The Surface Book 2 is a weird, beautiful relic. That 13.5-inch PixelSense display still pops, and the detachable clipboard mode feels futuristic even in 2025. But under the hood, it's a 7th-gen dual-core i5 with 8GB of RAM, which is basically vintage computing. The renewed units dropping as low as $238 make it a tempting way to grab a premium Windows tablet on the cheap, but you'll have to live with its aging guts and a refurb lottery that can be, well, messy.

The performance here is all over the map. The SSD is peppy enough for booting Windows 10 Pro in a blink, and light Office work or Netflix binging feels fine. But push it even a little, and the dual-core CPU and that Intel HD 620 graphics start sweating. Multitasking with more than five browser tabs, or trying any photo editing beyond cropping, and the whole machine bogs down. It's well below average for its class, and the 8GB of RAM is one of the stingiest allocations we've seen in a machine this premium. You'll notice it, especially if you're coming from a modern laptop.

At its lowest point of $238, the Surface Book 2 makes a weird kind of sense as a secondary couch tablet and light-duty laptop. At $450, you're getting fleeced. For that money, a new budget laptop will run circles around this. If you can snag a clean unit from Amazon's renewed listings at the bargain price, it's a fun gamble. But if you're eyeing the higher end of that spread, just walk away.

The Surface Book 2's only real party trick is that detachable tablet mode, which no current ultrabook does. If you just want a slim Windows laptop, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition or the ASUS ZenBook A14 are miles ahead in speed, battery life, and portability. Even the ancient MacBook Air MC6T4LL/A has a more modern feel and better resale value. The only reason to pick the Surface Book 2 over those is if you desperately need that clipboard form factor and you're okay with it being slow.

If you need a laptop that'll get you through a full workday on battery and handle more than a handful of browser tabs without crying, this isn't it. Go grab a Lenovo Yoga or a Dell Latitude 5000 instead. The Surface Book 2 is a nostalgic toy for people who can live with a flaky refurb and just want a pretty screen for light duty.

Buy the Surface Book 2 only if you're enchanted by the detachable design and you find a truly pristine renewed model at the very bottom of the price range. For light web browsing, note-taking, and media consumption, it's still got a gorgeous screen and a premium look. For anyone who needs a reliable daily driver with modern performance and battery life that lasts a workday, this thing is a hard pass. It's a charming secondary device, not a primary computer.