We took advantage of the Black Friday sale for 2018 in the USA where Microsoft slashed $300 off from their new Surface Laptop 2 with 256GB storage and Core i5 8th quad-core processor which is regularly priced at $1299 before taxes. Find out here on how we shipped it from the USA to the Philippines via Johnny Air Cargo Plus.
Because of our excitement, we immediately unboxed it and had our first hands-on when it arrived in our doorsteps. Read on to find out our first impressions of the new Black-painted premium Windows machine.
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Inside is a no-fuss retail content with only a few quick guide papers, the 64W wall adapter with the Surface Connect port, and the Black Surface Laptop 2 wrapped in plastic. It’s a straightforward retail box with no dongles or stickers despite the premium pricing (purchased our unit with a big discount though).
Without a doubt, the Surface Laptop 2 in a new Black paint job is one the best and most luxurious devices we’ve unboxed. Outside is a slim and solid profile with a matte texture. Inside is an all-black affair as the Alcantara fabric and glass trackpad are also made of the classic black.
In terms of feel, the Alcantara fabric is a refreshing sight and makes more accommodating compared to the cold metal finishes found in most premium notebooks. The keyboard has decent travel keys and feels classic because of the squarish shape while the glass trackpad has considerable size though we’d wish for a wider space on the next Surface.
Because of the touchscreen function of the 13.5-inch 3:2 high-resolution display, the finish is a bit glossy and one could notice it when compared to non-touch notebooks like the MacBook Pro. Both top and bottom bezels are thin enough, but again we’d like to see it trimmed.
The most talked features of the Surface Laptop 2 and the Surface Pro 6 are their arrays of ports. Microsoft did not bother upgrading the ports from the predecessor of both Surfaces: 1 x full sized USB 3.0 type-A, 1 x mini display port in 2018, 3.5mm audio jack, and Surface Connect port for the charger.
The obvious missing in action is the Type-C port we already saw from the Surface Book 2 and Surface Go. The only option we have is to buy a Surface Connect dongle that converts the proprietary port into a Type-C interface despite a missing Thunderbolt 3 support.
Performance-wise, the Core i5 with 8GB RAM is considerably fast for all intensive tasks aside from graphics-hungry games and video editing workloads. You can, however, play several PC game titles like Overwatch, Diablo 3, and Fortnite but on a low graphics setting.
We just have the unit for a couple of weeks and we did not notice alarming thermal and noise issues. Microsoft had really made this a comfortable machine to use.
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One of the most impressive features from this Surface is the battery life. We averaged nearly 12 hours to 15 hours of continuous use without gaming and just pure multitasking and several apps running at the same time in a single charge. We’d like to see how its long-term battery longevity by testing mixed gaming, streaming, and web browsing in the coming days.
Without making this hands-on sounds like a lengthy review, we can say we are very satisfied with the Surface Laptop 2 from the short time of using it. We will reserve our final verdict in our full review. So do let us know which sections of the Surface Laptop 2 you’d like us to cover.
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lawliet says:
Hi i heard madali po mascratch kapag matte black yung color, is it true?
Jade Bryan Jardinico says:
I think it is true for all anodized aluminum. However, I have my Surface Laptop 2 covered with skin (marble).