Apple's not the only company tinkering with its lineup without a press event (ahem, iPad Air). Yesterday, Microsoft updated its entry-level 13.5-inch Surface Book 2, replacing its 7th Gen Intel CPU with the latest 8th Gen quad-core processor available, in a configuration available now.
That upgraded Surface Book 2 is available now and costs $1,499, and runs a Core i5-8350U chip, according to The Verge. Microsoft uses the same copy for each CPU option's description: "Perfect for editing photos, watching videos, and creating reports and presentations."
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But there is a significant reason to upgrade: compared to the dual-core i5-7300U CPU in the previous entry-level Surface Book 2, these 8th Gen quad-core processors perform up to 40 percent faster. The jump from two cores to four cores is responsible for the first 25 percent of performance gains, while the last 15 percent comes from design and manufacturing tweaks.
Otherwise, the $1,499 Surface Book 2 is still the same as it was before, with a 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM. You'll need to spend more on the Core i7 processor to upgrade memory or storage.
If you want the 13-inch Surface Book 2 at a lower price, Microsoft will sell those dual-core 7th Gen units at the lower price of $1,299.
Image Credit: Laptop Mag
