Both justify their price tag. If anyone's wondering what the $400 difference gets you in the Surface Book: - Bigger and higher resolution screen - Bigger trackpad/keyboard - 33.33% more battery life (12 hours vs 9 hours) - Keyboard included (instead of $130 separate) - Additional USB 3.0 port - Full size SD card port - Future upgradeable ports, GPU, and battery (simply exchange out the keyboard base) in addition to keyboard and trackpad like the Surface Pro
+Ahmad A. Nobody promised "future upgradeable ports, GPU, and battery". It's technically possible but Microsoft don't intend to sell keyboard base separately.
xpehkto True, it's not promised. Just the probability of Microsoft making it available is pretty high after they made their new Docking Station, Surface Pro 4 Type Cover and new Surface Pen backwards compatible...plus, it would be a big selling point for the Surface Book, especially to enterprises; the first portable Laptop with user upgradeable ports and GPU. Then again, as you said, those accessories were sold separately...only time will tell how greedy/generous Microsoft is. I'm predicting that under Satya Nadella's leadership, and his goal to make people move *from needing Windows, to choosing Windows, to loving Windows*, this would be a key part of that; very future-proof hardware.
+Ahmad A. Yeah thats right Ahmad. Also much higher resolution which the video didn't mention and the keyboard experience is far superior obviously with a glass trackpad.
Well Bill Gates already even designed a tablet. But was not as slim nor as good as when Jobs did it. Bill Gates recognized Apple did it better later and the timing in the market was spot on.
Ah man, I'm so glad you actually broke it down to different packages. Too often in "vs" tech reviews, its always the top-tier models only, leaving lowly peasants like me to try to figure out some holes.
They don't actually have the same processors. They both come in i5 or i7, but different chips are used with different clock speeds. Surface Book: 6th Gen 2.6-GHz Intel Core i7-6600U processor with Intel HD graphics 520 6th Gen 2.4-GHz Intel Core i5-6300U processor with Intel HD graphics 520 Surface Pro 4: 6th Gen 2.2-GHz Intel Core i7-6650U processor with Intel Iris graphics 540 6th Gen 2.4-GHz Intel Core i5-6300U processor with Intel HD graphics 520 6th Gen 900-MHz Intel Core m3-6Y30 processor with Intel HD graphics 515
your English is very clear!! i'm poor Eng Asian and i can't understand any video that some guys reviewed on youtube. but yours help me so much. i'd love it.. thx
Surface Book is portable tho. The tablet portion of the Book is actually lighter than the pro, so whenever I need to go out on a trip or toilet or something, I just detach the keyboard(which is about half the weight of the surface book) and just carry a 20 gram Bluetooth keyboard. When I need power I use it with the keyboard.
I sorta prefer the Surface Pro form factor since the kickstand does not wobble under touch and its a lot lighter to haul around, plus you don't have to take it out or you bag in airport security which is nice. Surface Book was made more for people who really need to type a lot, and absolutely must have a laptop form factor to type on their laps. The type cover is ok when you need it, but really its just easier using the surface pro's split onscreen keyboard, which may be the best onscreen keyboard I've used.
I have to agree with the screen blur/refresh rate. I notice some stutters or slowness in the animation in the SB compared to my SP2 and no one seems to have commented on this or mentioned it before except for you. Something is a little weird with that.
Size matters. After using the Surface Pro 4 for business while traveling, I'm wishing I had the bigger screen size of the Surface book; especially with multiple apps open at the same time. 12.3 inches seems very small and crunched when compared to the 15 inch Macbook Pro I'm used to using.
This is the best comparison I've seen on the web so far and it has really helped me a lot. I must say that the dude making the comparisons is a very smart guy.
This is the best comparison, and also your surface pro 4 review is waaaay better than the ones made by big tech sites as CNET, the Verge and Engadget. Really, amazing job. I'll definetly follow your reviews from now on 👍👏
+Fstoppers You should know that surface book made it possible to use laptop as a tablet...& it's a great deal !! (actually you are getting 2 in 1) The reason for 3 hours of battery life is because they have to add more extra hardware to the top side (tab) to make it usable, that's why they have to reduce the battery size in the display side. Hypothetically if they added more battery on top side, the laptop wouldn't be able to maintain the balance between keyboard & display side. As a reviewer you should know better than me but unfortunately you are just trolling around without knowing anything.
Can you please make a Surface Pro 2017 model vs Surface Book 2? I've been debating on which one to get for college. I'm a Civil Engineer major if that helps. I will need it to record lectures and take notes and possibly to do projects and stuff. Pleas help. Thank You.
Excellent comparison. I did some limited testing of the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 at the Microsoft flagship store in Manhattan. I concur with all your conclusions. While the Surface Book is mighty impressive, I prefer the SP4 over the Book.
I got the surface book today (bottom spec) for £699 or roughly $760. PC world was doing an exdisplay offer and despite being in almost perfect condition, the price was reduced hugely. Having used both, it was a no brainer as to whether I got the bottom spec Pro or the book. I love it so far
what i really like about the surface line is the aspect ratio. the 3:2 allows most photos to fill the screen completely without any black bar surrounding the image. the same can be said if you shoot micro four thirds and the ipad aspect ratio. this would be perfect if you want to show your friends or clients your portfolio with the pro 4 or the tablet section of the book. the only downside is video playback in 16:9. I guess you can't have it all...oh well
+therealestmc85 You may be missing that dual 4k displays, 4 usb ports, and the capabilities to charge the unit, all through one magnetic cable, is what the unit provides. Though it is expensive, I think for its capabilities, it isn't "ripping people off."
Great review, very clear. Love the alt views you use to highlight a detail. However, a few things were not mentioned. Of course you cannot mention everything, but some important ones are:- The Display on the SurfaceBook is 3000x2000 - and has accurate color representation for proper photographic duplication.- The power adapter for the SB an Pro4 will also charge the SB tablet directly. You can also use the Surface dock power directly on the SB tablet. When you are on site, or photo hoot and need some extra juice, keep a power adapter in your bag just in case.- The Pen also has a variety of interchangeable tips available for something like $10. - The Surface Dock can actually run your power station with the 2 4K monitors in addition to the SB Display; same for the Pro4! It would have been cool if you were to actually turn the display around and use it folded also. It is a major feature.Thanks for the great review, I remain very torn on which one to get, I'd like to get both, but.. well..
I've only seen a couple of your videos but I really like your attitude during your videos. I also like your comparisons, video quality, it's informational. You've got a sub!
Really great review 🐹. .I mean I really didn't know the difference between the two. .and automatically asumed the Book was better because of the price, form factor, larger screen and build quality. but I was wrong. .it's pretty much the same. .but like you I like to use it as a tablet and a 3 hr battery life would be awful. thank you for the information 😸
2007suprasport if you remove the keyboard in surface book, the battery last only 2 hours. However, Surface book comes with graphics card in high end models. So its best for gaming
I don't know who you are, but you videos hit the right issues. Thanks!!! I just started watching your videos with the announcement of these two products. You do it better than most reviews I have seen. Great job!!!
I wanted to use the surface pro 4 as my main office computer connected to the dock. To keep my cost down what would be the trade off going i5 16GB Memory Ver i7 8GB memory. Basicly is more memory or more processor better. I do some lightroom work but not most of the time. I have a tone of browser windows open with Excel and Office running all the time.
+Kinu Grove my question is a similar one. Honestly, I am leaning toward the SB simply because of processor speed. On my current laptop, which is an older i5 2.27 GHz, 4gb ram, I cannot successfully run SPSS (stats program), excel, word, and chrome without processor speed severely lagging. Not sure if this is the result of memory, but it's a pain. And when you are using your laptop as your main workhorse (i.e. connected it to dual monitors) you are likelier to push the device to it's limits given the extra screen real estate. I don't have a clear answer to your question (i5 16gb vs i78gb) but it seems that the SB was designed with the power user in mind and the i7 would be more efficient.
Thank you for the review. I still want to know about the stylus, but this is a nice start to comparing the two. Things I am reviewing: Ideally, you want 8GB of RAM if running Photoshop, so the Surface Pro 4 w/ 8GB minimum comes to mind and that is 1,299. Adding the keyboard brings the price to 1,428.99. For 100 more dollars, you can get the Book, sacrificing storage space by 50%. Storage space for me does not matter when you attach a USB 3.0 drive to the port. Lots to think about when purchasing.
Really solid argument of comparison. Owning the Surface Pro 3 myself I don't think I could have been as unbiased as he was with these two devices. I would have dropped the BOMB on that refresh rate!
Thanks m8, really good reviews. I had my heart set on the pro 4 but after your comments on travelling I realised that the book would be a much better option on the train and bus. Cheers! Keep up the good work!
Short and Easy to understand. Probably the best comparison Yet. . Thanks for doing this video. You made it easy for me to determine which one to go with. Blessings
Hi, great review - thanks for that. One question: could you tell me if you can use the display port from the base unit of the Surface Book, while detaching the screen? That would be a killer feature to use at conferences, making you able to present from your tablet while having the base projecting. Thanks a lot.
I'm considering both machines and this review was extremely helpful---one of the best I've seen, and I've been watching a LOT of them (hey, it's a significant amount of coin, right?). My only bit of advice (and my tongue is firmly in my cheek) is that you need to know that those of us who live in New England just can't stop LOOKING AT YOUR HAT (and some of us growl a little)!
I have also noticed that as soon as an embedded video appears on the screen in edge, the screen adjusts the gamma tones automatically. You can really see the difference. Most importantly, if the video is right at the edge of the visualization, like when you scroll the page back and forth, the screen actually turns complete dark! It almost for sure a software issue and it will be fixed. Also, I got error messages that the video driver was crashing every now and then. Im just saying, expect some quirks for the first months.
+faddys1234 Actually if you are a comp sci student, I don't recommend most 2 in 1s. Reason being you are most likely dual boot linux or something along that line and drivers for few 2 in 1s, mostly Sony's tend to be problematic in Linux. Otherwise they are both great computers for school. If you are in budget get surface, if your school have little or no plugs for charging your laptop get the book.
+faddys1234 Depends what type of student you are. Art, engineering, computer science? Business, philosophy, social work? Basically, the book's dGPU options are a 'must' for someone wanting to use software like CAD or advanced video/image editing, or if you want to play games (no, you won't get something like Witcher running at 60fps on this thing, but it'll still run games). If you are thinking: notes, email, internet, portability, day to day stuff; heck the pro with the m CPU and 8GB RAM will give you more than you need for years.
+John Kang Do people dual boot anymore? Why not just do virtualization? That makes way more sense these days. It's pretty pointless to dual boot anymore especially if your second OS will be Linux. VirtualBox is free and so is Linux. It's really a no-brainer.
What a great comparison - helped me make up my mind to get SurfacePro4 however, I saw on some comments that there are heat issues with Surface Pro 4 and when heated, touch does not work well - is that true? And how quickly does it get hot?
to compare surface book and sp4 prices fairly, you probably need to add a docking station+ type cover to the sp4. Because surface book base is basically a docking station + type cover. And even after that, you can expect surface book to be a little more expensive due to larger screen, higher ppi, and longer battery.
Thank you for your video. This is the best comparison I have seen and found on TH-cam so far. You indicated a very good point regarding the surface book battery problem that it helps make my decision to buy surface pro 4 instead of book. Thanks and keep up your good work!
Well it is June 2020, we are on a pandemic, just bought a Surface Book i5, 8gb, 256ssd for 400dlls. This thing was used for almost 4 years, screen still great, I can do a webex meeting sharing screen and multiple programs open with no problems at all ( i tried on a macbook air 2017 and it could not handle it, it froze multiple times). Battery still holds between 8-10 hrs when using both parts. Is not snappy but is not slow either. I think surface books are a great product that will last you for years, i think this one can handle another 2-3 years.
Is the surface pro worth it for a student? I'm studying for design and I'm gonna have to use programs like adobe autocad, photoshop, illustrator etc... can I run smoothly those programs on the surface pro 4?
I'm a graphic designer and got this a couple of months ago and it's the best decision i've made (nearly went with an iPad or Macbook) The Surface is the best of both worlds. I run Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign and Muse on it without any problems. Plus the pen for drawing is absolutely fantastic. The Surface is a designers dream to be honest.
Which is better for a high school student that would like a light and portable laptop/tablet for class? I also would like to play some video games on it (Mostly CounterStrike: GO). At the moment I'm really close to getting an i7, 8GB SP4.
Very interesting comparison and the video reviewer Lee is excellent. Thanks. THE SURFACE PRO 4 IS NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING. I COULD SAY THE SAME FOR THE SURFACE BOOK AND EVEN FOR THE MICROSOFT LUMIA 950 AND 950XL SMARTPHONES!! AND I DO NOT EVEN MENTION THE WINDOWS 10 OS THAT IS ALSO AWESOME.
ViralSocials Good question. There is also this false idea that caps are used when someone shouts but it is never used this way in my case. I use caps because that is the only way to highlight important ideas when you use text in comments.
Way better review than most! Big thumbs up. Can't help but throw in my thoughts , I basically agree with what you've said just wanted to provide a detailed use case. I'd recommend an i5/8GB Ram Pro 4 to most people I know, it'll do everything they need for years while giving them portability and descent enough battery life. Hell even the M CPU is good for most people, you can run multiple programs like photoshop/illustrator/etc and still get great performance (and most people don't use software anywhere near as demanding as these) while gaining a bit more in battery. People seem to see numbers and want the 'best', with no understanding of what it means. I guess that's why people keep buying the latest and greatest phone, not realizing that that new phone they just bought, no apps on the market can even come close to using it's power (the most demanding apps, usually games, tend to run 3-4 years behind the hardware from what I've seen). Whatever you decide, 4GB Ram isn't really enough if you hope to do any sort of multitasking, even with simple applications like word/excel/internet browsers/email, please trust me! And 16GB is way too much for 99% of the population unless you have specialized needs (and you'll know already that you need more RAM;). 8GB is a sweetspot and it doesn't look like that's going to change any time soon. But, all that said it's the book i5/8GB for me. I'm an illustrator and that larger screen is nice for drawing plus it'll easily handle all the software I need. I'm a hobbyist with electronics and use CAD programs (esp for 3D printing enclosures). And most importantly I'm a pretty avid gamer, and the dGPU is comparable to maybe a 940m (a bit better than this actually) so it'll let me run my favorite games like civ/starcraft at max settings (40-70 fps) for those on the go quick games in a coffee shop, while still getting really good performance for games like Divinity (35 fps) and even manageable performance at low settings (maybe 25-35 fps) for the latest and greatest games that are really demanding like Witcher. NOTE: this is NOT a gaming laptop however, if gaming is your primary, don't pick up any kind of surface (i.e. I have an Alienware decked out for my portable gaming needs [i.e. LAN parties still exist!], and a dedicated beast at home for my primary gaming needs). Now with the book I also lose on portability, as it's larger and heavier and when detached from the keyboard the battery life takes a nose dive (great for meetings thou, which is the only time I wan't true portability).
Nice review, but a bit off. the surface pro with 8 gb of ram,256 sd and i5 processor is 1,299$ add 159.99$ for the keyboard and the new total is 1458.99$ vs the surface book 1,699 with the same setup, yes is more expensive but is 240 more expensive no 500$. On my case I'm waiting for everyone make test on both devices to make a educated guess because at this moment is really hard. Another thing to take in consideration is if you can buy a non dual graphics SB and buy the keyboard with the graphics unit later, example: buy the cheapest version and wait till some people sells it bottom part, or next year just buy the new bottom part with a 2 gb or so graphic card. For me SP4 offers more bang for your bucks, but SB offers more expandability and that simple word changes everything, if u can swap the bottom part between sb's that make it more future proof, and for me have more value than the 300$ of difference, (if my hopes come as accurate as I expect ) next year I'd jut put the new 2gb or so video card from the sb2. Remember Microsoft is making the new hardwares backwards compatible with prior sp3 and SP4 keyboards,pens, dock stations, so in my humble opinion the next year sb2 hardware could be very likely compatible with this one making the sb a better investment than the sp4. Thanks for the review, and if anyone agree or disagree please let's keep the conversation as adults no necessity for insults or bad language (besides my grammar horrors. lol) have a great day.
I liked the size of the book to use as a tablet, but good thing you mention it only had 3h by itself. So I'm going for the pro. Thank you so much! so you can connect the pro to a bigger screen at home? I'm not too comfortable using a mall keyboard.
Please could you answer my question! +Fstoppers Firstly how did you find the battery life to be? Was it good enough to get you through a day or more? Did you find Microsoft's readings to be correct? The battery life is the only thing preventing me from buying the surface book.
+James Carlyle around 13 hours of playing a video. the battery life is better than MacBook air I think but if you want to play games on battery it will be much much less.
Hey .. first of all Really nice video! Watched it twice :D (And sorry if my english is not perfect, i hope you still understand me) I actually have the surface pro 3 i5 4gb ram 128 gigs storage since a year now and it worked mostly fine for me. The only thing that annoys me is that the fan gets so fast too loud. I use the SP3 mostly for programming, taking notes and casual gaming like league of legends sometimes or minigames of the app store (but not too often). Now I can't decide which of those devices is better for my needs. I really don't wanna have this very loud fan of the sp3 when I start playing league of legends. I couldnt skype with my friends while playing that game because of that loud fan. Do you think I should buy the SP4 with I7, 256 storage and 16 gig Ram or you think I should go for the SB with the I5, 256 storage 8 gig Ram?
![เป็นไปได้ไหม - WanMai [Performance Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Eh5hItD4Mr0/mqdefault.jpg)
Both justify their price tag. If anyone's wondering what the $400 difference gets you in the Surface Book:
- Bigger and higher resolution screen
- Bigger trackpad/keyboard
- 33.33% more battery life (12 hours vs 9 hours)
- Keyboard included (instead of $130 separate)
- Additional USB 3.0 port
- Full size SD card port
- Future upgradeable ports, GPU, and battery (simply exchange out the keyboard base) in addition to keyboard and trackpad like the Surface Pro
+Ahmad A. Thank You !!
+Ahmad A. Nobody promised "future upgradeable ports, GPU, and battery". It's technically possible but Microsoft don't intend to sell keyboard base separately.
xpehkto True, it's not promised. Just the probability of Microsoft making it available is pretty high after they made their new Docking Station, Surface Pro 4 Type Cover and new Surface Pen backwards compatible...plus, it would be a big selling point for the Surface Book, especially to enterprises; the first portable Laptop with user upgradeable ports and GPU.
Then again, as you said, those accessories were sold separately...only time will tell how greedy/generous Microsoft is. I'm predicting that under Satya Nadella's leadership, and his goal to make people move *from needing Windows, to choosing Windows, to loving Windows*, this would be a key part of that; very future-proof hardware.
+Ahmad A. Yeah thats right Ahmad. Also much higher resolution which the video didn't mention and the keyboard experience is far superior obviously with a glass trackpad.
***** gbhbk . . 20
Is it just me , or is Microsoft the innovator now and Apple is just boring?
Yeah you are right
WelcometoVideoCity that is a true answer. But you know what Apple fans are they always become butthurt
Well Bill Gates already even designed a tablet. But was not as slim nor as good as when Jobs did it. Bill Gates recognized Apple did it better later and the timing in the market was spot on.
True dat, yet i own a 2013 Macbook Pro. Slow as fuck but still love it. Win 10 on my workstation, wouldnt change it for anything apple stuff.
and still is
Ah man, I'm so glad you actually broke it down to different packages. Too often in "vs" tech reviews, its always the top-tier models only, leaving lowly peasants like me to try to figure out some holes.
They don't actually have the same processors. They both come in i5 or i7, but different chips are used with different clock speeds.
Surface Book:
6th Gen 2.6-GHz Intel Core i7-6600U processor with Intel HD graphics 520
6th Gen 2.4-GHz Intel Core i5-6300U processor with Intel HD graphics 520
Surface Pro 4:
6th Gen 2.2-GHz Intel Core i7-6650U processor with Intel Iris graphics 540
6th Gen 2.4-GHz Intel Core i5-6300U processor with Intel HD graphics 520
6th Gen 900-MHz Intel Core m3-6Y30 processor with Intel HD graphics 515
your English is very clear!! i'm poor Eng Asian and i can't understand any video that some guys reviewed on youtube. but yours help me so much. i'd love it.. thx
my dream surface would be the love child of these two; portability of the pro and power of the book. come on microsoft!
Surface Book is portable tho. The tablet portion of the Book is actually lighter than the pro, so whenever I need to go out on a trip or toilet or something, I just detach the keyboard(which is about half the weight of the surface book) and just carry a 20 gram Bluetooth keyboard. When I need power I use it with the keyboard.
@@hackman-hackman how do you keep it up without a kickstand?
@@hackman-hackman so the keyboard itself is 3 lbs?
I didn't know Tom Brady did reviews
Hussain Rizvi Tom Brady and Ashton Kutcher.
Rowen • and Clayton kershaw
I sorta prefer the Surface Pro form factor since the kickstand does not wobble under touch and its a lot lighter to haul around, plus you don't have to take it out or you bag in airport security which is nice. Surface Book was made more for people who really need to type a lot, and absolutely must have a laptop form factor to type on their laps. The type cover is ok when you need it, but really its just easier using the surface pro's split onscreen keyboard, which may be the best onscreen keyboard I've used.
I have to agree with the screen blur/refresh rate. I notice some stutters or slowness in the animation in the SB compared to my SP2 and no one seems to have commented on this or mentioned it before except for you. Something is a little weird with that.
Size matters. After using the Surface Pro 4 for business while traveling, I'm wishing I had the bigger screen size of the Surface book; especially with multiple apps open at the same time. 12.3 inches seems very small and crunched when compared to the 15 inch Macbook Pro I'm used to using.
This is the best comparison I've seen on the web so far and it has really helped me a lot. I must say that the dude making the comparisons is a very smart guy.
This is the best comparison, and also your surface pro 4 review is waaaay better than the ones made by big tech sites as CNET, the Verge and Engadget. Really, amazing job. I'll definetly follow your reviews from now on 👍👏
Thanks!
A+ :)
+Fstoppers You should know that surface book made it possible to use laptop as a tablet...& it's a great deal !! (actually you are getting 2 in 1)
The reason for 3 hours of battery life is because they have to add more extra hardware to the top side (tab) to make it usable, that's why they have to reduce the battery size in the display side.
Hypothetically if they added more battery on top side, the laptop wouldn't be able to maintain the balance between keyboard & display side.
As a reviewer you should know better than me but unfortunately you are just trolling around without knowing anything.
+Ghazi KA You forgot Techno Buffalo, they unbox stuff like children.
+Ghazi KA yesterday I stopped follow cnet. they are awful and everyone can see they are pro apple fans that trash other companies and products
Thanks. What about pro 6 vs surface book?
So, the guy had the opportunity to actually test the gpus and compare, but he preferred giving the information which everyone knows already.
At least he read the specs correctly this time
Best comparison on TH-cam. Thank you. You've convinced me on what choice to make the most out of all the reviews I've seen.
Thank you
luvstospooj what did you choose
Can you please make a Surface Pro 2017 model vs Surface Book 2? I've been debating on which one to get for college. I'm a Civil Engineer major if that helps. I will need it to record lectures and take notes and possibly to do projects and stuff. Pleas help. Thank You.
i'm getting a surface book this month, i'm very excited
i thought surface book 2 is coming out on October this year?
Ssssssst!
Just let him be happy, it are just rumors ;)
BuckyBarnes And how do you experienced it after 2 months of using it?
Excellent comparison. I did some limited testing of the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 at the Microsoft flagship store in Manhattan. I concur with all your conclusions. While the Surface Book is mighty impressive, I prefer the SP4 over the Book.
I got the surface book today (bottom spec) for £699 or roughly $760. PC world was doing an exdisplay offer and despite being in almost perfect condition, the price was reduced hugely. Having used both, it was a no brainer as to whether I got the bottom spec Pro or the book. I love it so far
Well done. Excellent comparison. Really appreciate that you made this video. Will be looking for your assessments in my future information needs.
what i really like about the surface line is the aspect ratio. the 3:2 allows most photos to fill the screen completely without any black bar surrounding the image. the same can be said if you shoot micro four thirds and the ipad aspect ratio. this would be perfect if you want to show your friends or clients your portfolio with the pro 4 or the tablet section of the book. the only downside is video playback in 16:9. I guess you can't have it all...oh well
200 dollars for a USB adapter. I thought only Apple rips people off.
+therealestmc85 ...what are you talking about?
+Michael Werner the reviewer said USB adapter he was holding cost 200 dollars. Am I wrong it's a ripoff if true.
therealestmc85 What time in the movie is that?
+Michael Werner 4:15 - 4:41
+therealestmc85 You may be missing that dual 4k displays, 4 usb ports, and the capabilities to charge the unit, all through one magnetic cable, is what the unit provides. Though it is expensive, I think for its capabilities, it isn't "ripping people off."
All product reviews should be done like this. Thnaks bro.
Great review, very clear. Love the alt views you use to highlight a detail. However, a few things were not mentioned. Of course you cannot mention everything, but some important ones are:- The Display on the SurfaceBook is 3000x2000 - and has accurate color representation for proper photographic duplication.- The power adapter for the SB an Pro4 will also charge the SB tablet directly. You can also use the Surface dock power directly on the SB tablet. When you are on site, or photo hoot and need some extra juice, keep a power adapter in your bag just in case.- The Pen also has a variety of interchangeable tips available for something like $10. - The Surface Dock can actually run your power station with the 2 4K monitors in addition to the SB Display; same for the Pro4! It would have been cool if you were to actually turn the display around and use it folded also. It is a major feature.Thanks for the great review, I remain very torn on which one to get, I'd like to get both, but.. well..
I've only seen a couple of your videos but I really like your attitude during your videos. I also like your comparisons, video quality, it's informational. You've got a sub!
Really great review 🐹. .I mean I really didn't know the difference between the two. .and automatically asumed the Book was better because of the price, form factor, larger screen and build quality. but I was wrong. .it's pretty much the same. .but like you I like to use it as a tablet and a 3 hr battery life would be awful. thank you for the information 😸
2007suprasport if you remove the keyboard in surface book, the battery last only 2 hours.
However, Surface book comes with graphics card in high end models. So its best for gaming
2007suprasport my surface pro 4 endure 6 hours (or a little more) in use. :')
I don't know who you are, but you videos hit the right issues. Thanks!!! I just started watching your videos with the announcement of these two products. You do it better than most reviews I have seen. Great job!!!
Very helpful review Lee. Great job.
You actually did a really good review. Really the first tech review I have ever found valuable.
Honestly I clicked and was watching because, your face is perfect. You were actually very practical in your review and personal decision. Thank you!
I wanted to use the surface pro 4 as my main office computer connected to the dock. To keep my cost down what would be the trade off going i5 16GB Memory Ver i7 8GB memory. Basicly is more memory or more processor better. I do some lightroom work but not most of the time. I have a tone of browser windows open with Excel and Office running all the time.
+Kinu Grove my question is a similar one. Honestly, I am leaning toward the SB simply because of processor speed. On my current laptop, which is an older i5 2.27 GHz, 4gb ram, I cannot successfully run SPSS (stats program), excel, word, and chrome without processor speed severely lagging. Not sure if this is the result of memory, but it's a pain. And when you are using your laptop as your main workhorse (i.e. connected it to dual monitors) you are likelier to push the device to it's limits given the extra screen real estate. I don't have a clear answer to your question (i5 16gb vs i78gb) but it seems that the SB was designed with the power user in mind and the i7 would be more efficient.
Much better "real" hands on review with the new surface products. I would like to see some review where a software compiler is used.
Excellent video. Man you are good in making such kind of videos.
$200 for the surface dock is a WTF price.
Probably the best comparison I've seen...excellent!
By far the best comparison i have seen,
Excellent review. Informative and straight forward. Good job :)
The surface book needs a kickstand, the best of two world.
+Youri 't lam Agreed
Thank you for the review. I still want to know about the stylus, but this is a nice start to comparing the two. Things I am reviewing: Ideally, you want 8GB of RAM if running Photoshop, so the Surface Pro 4 w/ 8GB minimum comes to mind and that is 1,299. Adding the keyboard brings the price to 1,428.99. For 100 more dollars, you can get the Book, sacrificing storage space by 50%. Storage space for me does not matter when you attach a USB 3.0 drive to the port. Lots to think about when purchasing.
Good reviews. Very practical and down to earth.
Never watched a video of yours before, but this review was helpful, insightful, and a great comparison
which will be better for Autocad, SAP2000, Sketchup like softwares????
very good review. it's clear my head now. big thump up. thx.
Really solid argument of comparison. Owning the Surface Pro 3 myself I don't think I could have been as unbiased as he was with these two devices. I would have dropped the BOMB on that refresh rate!
How is photoshop in pro 4 vs book? In terms of resolution do you have to change anything to make it look better and not tiny
Thanks m8, really good reviews. I had my heart set on the pro 4 but after your comments on travelling I realised that the book would be a much better option on the train and bus. Cheers!
Keep up the good work!
Clean, informative and most importantly, unbiased. Thanks for the comparison video. You've got yourself a new subscriber.
Watched many review videos, but this one is the most helpful for me. Thanks!
Best comparison I've seen! Thanks for the advice. A Surface Pro 4 it will be.
you should start review product things more dude.. this is the most objective honest explanation I've ever watched
ten thumbs up!!
Really good information so thanks for posting.
This an excellent review. Very very helpful thank you!
Short and Easy to understand. Probably the best comparison Yet. . Thanks for doing this video. You made it easy for me to determine which one to go with. Blessings
Excellent comparison. Thanks!
hi grt review. just one query are the speakers better on the book or r they the same. thx
Great comparison I am in real estate and I am leaning toward the book Any suggestions
Hi, great review - thanks for that. One question: could you tell me if you can use the display port from the base unit of the Surface Book, while detaching the screen? That would be a killer feature to use at conferences, making you able to present from your tablet while having the base projecting. Thanks a lot.
Great video review--thanx! I'm a photojournalist and was looking at both these new items for field work. I think the Surface Pro 4 is in my future!
agree with what everyone are saying! really a great review! honest,genuine and well put together :) thanks and hope to see more from u. Wales.
A+ review, but have you tested for back-light bleed on these laptops?
Really good review.
How is gaming on the surface pro and is it worth it for better performance to get the i7 and/or 16 gigabytes of ram configuration?
I'm considering both machines and this review was extremely helpful---one of the best I've seen, and I've been watching a LOT of them (hey, it's a significant amount of coin, right?). My only bit of advice (and my tongue is firmly in my cheek) is that you need to know that those of us who live in New England just can't stop LOOKING AT YOUR HAT (and some of us growl a little)!
nice review... (little hard to process the info over the cuteness of this guy geez! )
I'm subscribing now. Keep it up!
I have also noticed that as soon as an embedded video appears on the screen in edge, the screen adjusts the gamma tones automatically. You can really see the difference. Most importantly, if the video is right at the edge of the visualization, like when you scroll the page back and forth, the screen actually turns complete dark! It almost for sure a software issue and it will be fixed. Also, I got error messages that the video driver was crashing every now and then. Im just saying, expect some quirks for the first months.
what do you think would be better for a student ?
Certainly the book
+faddys1234 Actually if you are a comp sci student, I don't recommend most 2 in 1s. Reason being you are most likely dual boot linux or something along that line and drivers for few 2 in 1s, mostly Sony's tend to be problematic in Linux.
Otherwise they are both great computers for school. If you are in budget get surface, if your school have little or no plugs for charging your laptop get the book.
+Fstoppers I was thinking that too but isn't the surface pro 4 better for notes and stuff
+faddys1234 Depends what type of student you are. Art, engineering, computer science? Business, philosophy, social work? Basically, the book's dGPU options are a 'must' for someone wanting to use software like CAD or advanced video/image editing, or if you want to play games (no, you won't get something like Witcher running at 60fps on this thing, but it'll still run games). If you are thinking: notes, email, internet, portability, day to day stuff; heck the pro with the m CPU and 8GB RAM will give you more than you need for years.
+John Kang Do people dual boot anymore? Why not just do virtualization? That makes way more sense these days. It's pretty pointless to dual boot anymore especially if your second OS will be Linux. VirtualBox is free and so is Linux. It's really a no-brainer.
What a great comparison - helped me make up my mind to get SurfacePro4 however, I saw on some comments that there are heat issues with Surface Pro 4 and when heated, touch does not work well - is that true? And how quickly does it get hot?
to compare surface book and sp4 prices fairly, you probably need to add a docking station+ type cover to the sp4. Because surface book base is basically a docking station + type cover. And even after that, you can expect surface book to be a little more expensive due to larger screen, higher ppi, and longer battery.
Thank you for your video. This is the best comparison I have seen and found on TH-cam so far. You indicated a very good point regarding the surface book battery problem that it helps make my decision to buy surface pro 4 instead of book. Thanks and keep up your good work!
Really great review
thank you for this detailed comparison 👍
What would you suggest for a student who writes, does art, and travels often?
Good review! I'm going to be picking up one of these in a few days...very Helpful Thanks
This really helped me. Thank you. Getting the Surface Pro 4.
Well it is June 2020, we are on a pandemic, just bought a Surface Book i5, 8gb, 256ssd for 400dlls. This thing was used for almost 4 years, screen still great, I can do a webex meeting sharing screen and multiple programs open with no problems at all ( i tried on a macbook air 2017 and it could not handle it, it froze multiple times). Battery still holds between 8-10 hrs when using both parts. Is not snappy but is not slow either. I think surface books are a great product that will last you for years, i think this one can handle another 2-3 years.
Wow. Where did you buy yours from and what model of surface book is it?
True definition of a comparison video
Is the surface pro worth it for a student? I'm studying for design and I'm gonna have to use programs like adobe autocad, photoshop, illustrator etc... can I run smoothly those programs on the surface pro 4?
Enes Bakiu if u buy the core i7 with bigger RAMs I'm sure it can work.
Enes Bakiu watch brad colbow
I'm a graphic designer and got this a couple of months ago and it's the best decision i've made (nearly went with an iPad or Macbook) The Surface is the best of both worlds. I run Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign and Muse on it without any problems. Plus the pen for drawing is absolutely fantastic. The Surface is a designers dream to be honest.
Chris Roy Denis Daniel Danca thank you so much guys :)
What is the specs of your surface?
Some browsers have a smooth scrolling option that you can enable.
Hey. Put Surface Pro 4 keyboard directly to the ground. That eliminiates vibrations and writing experience is much better! Nice review.
good explanation bro thanks
Which is better for a high school student that would like a light and portable laptop/tablet for class? I also would like to play some video games on it (Mostly CounterStrike: GO). At the moment I'm really close to getting an i7, 8GB SP4.
The Premiere Pro GPU example was really good! Helps me differentiate the usage of CPU against GPU :)
I loved this. thank you for such a good overview!
Did you try using the SP4 keyboard on the SB??
thank you, helped me decide which one to buy
Very interesting comparison and the video reviewer Lee is excellent. Thanks.
THE SURFACE PRO 4 IS NOTHING SHORT OF AMAZING. I COULD SAY THE SAME FOR THE SURFACE BOOK AND EVEN FOR THE MICROSOFT LUMIA 950 AND 950XL SMARTPHONES!! AND I DO NOT EVEN MENTION THE WINDOWS 10 OS THAT IS ALSO AWESOME.
Why caps?
ViralSocials
Good question. There is also this false idea that caps are used when someone shouts but it is never used this way in my case. I use caps because that is the only way to highlight important ideas when you use text in comments.
+Michael R. You lost me after you stated windows phone was good
+Marcus _ you may haven't seen the lumia 950/950xl.. these are gamechangers!!
Sebastian Reinhardt They really aren't but I don't want to argue about a phone os over youth so i'll just take your word for it lol.
Amazing review. Im sharing the same sentiment with yours. I still opt for SP4
Way better review than most! Big thumbs up. Can't help but throw in my thoughts , I basically agree with what you've said just wanted to provide a detailed use case.
I'd recommend an i5/8GB Ram Pro 4 to most people I know, it'll do everything they need for years while giving them portability and descent enough battery life. Hell even the M CPU is good for most people, you can run multiple programs like photoshop/illustrator/etc and still get great performance (and most people don't use software anywhere near as demanding as these) while gaining a bit more in battery. People seem to see numbers and want the 'best', with no understanding of what it means. I guess that's why people keep buying the latest and greatest phone, not realizing that that new phone they just bought, no apps on the market can even come close to using it's power (the most demanding apps, usually games, tend to run 3-4 years behind the hardware from what I've seen).
Whatever you decide, 4GB Ram isn't really enough if you hope to do any sort of multitasking, even with simple applications like word/excel/internet browsers/email, please trust me! And 16GB is way too much for 99% of the population unless you have specialized needs (and you'll know already that you need more RAM;). 8GB is a sweetspot and it doesn't look like that's going to change any time soon.
But, all that said it's the book i5/8GB for me. I'm an illustrator and that larger screen is nice for drawing plus it'll easily handle all the software I need. I'm a hobbyist with electronics and use CAD programs (esp for 3D printing enclosures). And most importantly I'm a pretty avid gamer, and the dGPU is comparable to maybe a 940m (a bit better than this actually) so it'll let me run my favorite games like civ/starcraft at max settings (40-70 fps) for those on the go quick games in a coffee shop, while still getting really good performance for games like Divinity (35 fps) and even manageable performance at low settings (maybe 25-35 fps) for the latest and greatest games that are really demanding like Witcher. NOTE: this is NOT a gaming laptop however, if gaming is your primary, don't pick up any kind of surface (i.e. I have an Alienware decked out for my portable gaming needs [i.e. LAN parties still exist!], and a dedicated beast at home for my primary gaming needs). Now with the book I also lose on portability, as it's larger and heavier and when detached from the keyboard the battery life takes a nose dive (great for meetings thou, which is the only time I wan't true portability).
Nice review, but a bit off. the surface pro with 8 gb of ram,256 sd and i5 processor is 1,299$ add 159.99$ for the keyboard and the new total is 1458.99$ vs the surface book 1,699 with the same setup, yes is more expensive but is 240 more expensive no 500$.
On my case I'm waiting for everyone make test on both devices to make a educated guess because at this moment is really hard.
Another thing to take in consideration is if you can buy a non dual graphics SB and buy the keyboard with the graphics unit later, example: buy the cheapest version and wait till some people sells it bottom part, or next year just buy the new bottom part with a 2 gb or so graphic card.
For me SP4 offers more bang for your bucks, but SB offers more expandability and that simple word changes everything, if u can swap the bottom part between sb's that make it more future proof, and for me have more value than the 300$ of difference, (if my hopes come as accurate as I expect ) next year I'd jut put the new 2gb or so video card from the sb2.
Remember Microsoft is making the new hardwares backwards compatible with prior sp3 and SP4 keyboards,pens, dock stations, so in my humble opinion the next year sb2 hardware could be very likely compatible with this one making the sb a better investment than the sp4.
Thanks for the review, and if anyone agree or disagree please let's keep the conversation as adults no necessity for insults or bad language (besides my grammar horrors. lol) have a great day.
me too, small and easy to take around, i like it.
I liked the size of the book to use as a tablet, but good thing you mention it only had 3h by itself. So I'm going for the pro. Thank you so much!
so you can connect the pro to a bigger screen at home? I'm not too comfortable using a mall keyboard.
Do you have to charge the screen separately when it is drained and connected to the keyboard?
isn't there an sd slot on the pro? thought i saw one at 4:04 mark
Interesting to see the magnetic connector is built into the base on the surface book and not the screen. That rules out using it with the dock for me.
Great review!
thx for ur review n that just solves my problem
Please could you answer my question! +Fstoppers
Firstly how did you find the battery life to be? Was it good enough to get you through a day or more? Did you find Microsoft's readings to be correct?
The battery life is the only thing preventing me from buying the surface book.
+James Carlyle around 13 hours of playing a video. the battery life is better than MacBook air I think but if you want to play games on battery it will be much much less.
Hey .. first of all Really nice video! Watched it twice :D (And sorry if my english is not perfect, i hope you still understand me)
I actually have the surface pro 3 i5 4gb ram 128 gigs storage since a year now and it worked mostly fine for me.
The only thing that annoys me is that the fan gets so fast too loud.
I use the SP3 mostly for programming, taking notes and casual gaming like league of legends sometimes or minigames of the app store (but not too often).
Now I can't decide which of those devices is better for my needs. I really don't wanna have this very loud fan of the sp3 when I start playing league of legends. I couldnt skype with my friends while playing that game because of that loud fan.
Do you think I should buy the SP4 with I7, 256 storage and 16 gig Ram or you think I should go for the SB with the I5, 256 storage 8 gig Ram?
Very halpful and well explaind thnaks