While a traditional notebook display might weigh half a pound at most, the top section of the Surface Book weighs 1.6-pounds, because it has all the necessary parts to act as a standalone tablet. When opened, this same hinge rolls out and actually extends the base of the laptop, which in turn helps extend the support base for the tablet section of the Surface Book – a section that Microsoft calls the Clipboard. The dynamic fulcrum hinge, rather than folding flatly, like a normal laptop, coils into itself, leaving a noticeable gap between the screen and keyboard when it’s closed. Rather than simply bonding the screen and keyboard base together, it's this key piece that makes the Surface Book work. Even the Surface Book’s display is one continuous piece of magnesium, with the only design flourishes being a mirror finished Windows logo in the center and rear-facing camera.Īt the midpoint of the Surface Book, there's a piece of connective tissue that Microsoft calls the dynamic fulcrum hinge.

Without the foreknowledge that the display can actually detach, the Surface Book looks like one continuous device, thanks to the hinge.įrom the keyboard deck to the palm rests, the Surface Book is one flat piece of metal, except for the glass touchpad, obviously. Unlike most other convertible devices, the screen and base sections share nearly the same thickness and weight.

Milled from two solid blocks of magnesium, the Surface Book feels sturdy and has a most minimalistic style.Īlong the chiseled sides, you'll find two flat edges that start from the top of the display and terminate at the tip of the palm rest. From the snake-like hinge, the flat design and even down to the washed-out silver color of the laptop, everything about it just seems like it came from the future. If a tear in the space-time continuum were to suddenly rip open, two things would fall out: the Terminator and then the Surface Book quickly tumbling to the Earth behind it.

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