Surface Book 4: Is Microsoft’s hybrid detachable line dead?
Microsoft has defied industry rumblings suggesting it would unveil a Surface Book 4 at its September 22 Surface live stream, choosing to unveil a new Surface Laptop Studio in its place.
While the fabled Surface Pro 8, Surface Go 3 and Surface Duo 2 made an appearance as expected, the Surface Book 4 was a no show, leaving many wondering about the future of the series.
Here’s what we know.
Release date and price
With the Surface Laptop Studio looking set to replace the Book as Microsoft’s flagship device for creatives there’s not concrete information if, let alone a new Book 4 will launch. If it does it will likely be in 2022 at the earliest as Microsoft only tends to do one Surface launch event per year. Outside of this it only tends to roll out minor CPU upgrades for its existing devices sporadically throughout the year.
On the price front, we don’t have any official information right now, but we can look back at past Surface Books to get an insight into what the new laptop might cost.
The Surface Book 3 came in two sizes, 15-inch and 13.5-inch, and were priced at £2199/$2229.99 and £1599/$1599 respectively. Microsoft would likely retain a similar price point for the entry-level model, while also offering more expensive configurations if it chooses to continue the line.
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Design and screen
We have no official information regarding the design of the Surface Book 4 and what little we did pre-event now appears to relate to the Surface Studio. The below patent appeared weeks before and looks identical to the Laptop Studio’s hinge design.
Past Surface Book devices have a different hybrid design that lets users dock a tablet section into a powered keyboard with a dGPU to turn it into a powerhouse laptop.
Specs
If a Surface Book 4 does launch next year, it will feature Windows 11. Outside of this there are no credible rumours about its specs, with every pre-release “leak” no clearly being related to the Surface Laptop Studio, not a new Book. We’ll update this page as and when new information about the Surface Book 4 appears.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
