Surface Laptop 2: what we want to see

The original Surface Laptop might not even be a year old yet, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t get excited for its sequel, does it?

In this article, we’d like to lay out our expectations for what the Surface Laptop 2 will look like. No matter how much we love the original, Windows 10 powered, Surface Laptop, there’s always room to improve.

Now that the Windows 10 April Update is live, the Surface Laptop has access to a bunch of productivity-focused features, making it into even more of a worthy workplace companion. What about the sequel though? Well, now that Microsoft is actively developing Redstone 5 and we’re seeing rumors about the anticipated redesign to the Surface Pro not coming until next year, we may be seeing a Surface Laptop 2 announcement in the very near future. Maybe even as soon as October 2018.

Still, because there isn’t much in the way of concrete information about the Surface Laptop 2, all we can do is speculate about the key details, like the possible features, price and release date. We’d also like to create a wish list of sorts. So, keep this page bookmarked, as we’ll keep it updated with all the latest information that comes our way.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? The would-be second Surface Laptop
• When is it out? Probably around October 2018 
• What will it cost? Likely as much as – if not more than – the current model

Surface Laptop 2 release date

Unfortunately, we know next to nothing regarding when we’ll see the next Surface Laptop from Microsoft. So, that leaves us with the release of last year to base any speculation upon.

The first Surface Laptop was launched on June 15 2017 in the US. Given how hardware makers like Microsoft tend to annualize their releases, our best guess as to when we’ll see a Surface Laptop 2 in 2018 would be in June, especially if Microsoft continues to push it as a back-to-school laptop.

Granted, Microsoft hasn’t been awfully consistent with the release timings of its Surface Pro or Surface Book products. So, perhaps it’s just safer to expect the Surface Laptop 2 to release in time for the back-to-school sales in the US. 

Surface Laptop 2 price

Again, there has been little to no information regarding the Surface Laptop 2 price. So, we only have the current model’s pricing to go off of.

With that, we know that Surface Laptop today starts at $799 (around £560, AU$1,000), a new configuration featuring a lower-power Intel Core m3 processor. The original starting model, meanwhile, starts at $999 (around £705, AU$1,250).

So, if we are to see a Surface Laptop 2 in 2018, it’s tough to expect Microsoft to deviate far – if at all – from this price in either direction.

Surface Laptop 2 specs

Unsurprisingly, we know nothing with any amount of concrete certainty about what kind of hardware will be inside the would-be Surface Laptop 2. But, again, we have the current models as a baseline for our best guesses.

It’s safe to assume that, if Microsoft goes the Intel route once again, 8th-generation Kaby Lake R or Coffee Lake processors will be included. Whether that’s the Core U series processors found in the best Ultrabooks, or the new G series models with embedded AMD Vega graphics is anyone’s guess.

Otherwise, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the existing basic RAM and storage configurations to remain the same, as memory and storage standards haven’t drastically changed since last year.

What we want to see in a Surface Laptop 2

With such little known about a would-be Surface Laptop 2 for 2018, that leaves us plenty of room to develop a wish list of sorts for the product. So, here are the major upgrades we want to see from a Surface Laptop sequel:

More (or better) ports, please
Frankly, it’s about time for Microsoft to adopt USB-C 3.1 or Thunderbolt 3. The Surface Connect port is fine and allows for much of the same functionality as either, but it’s not quite the same. We deserve a bit more freedom to third-party high-speed accessories for the price of entry – just kill the mini DisplayPort and slap a USB-C port of some sort there?

LTE connectivity
Now that the Surface Pro LTE is on the horizon, we would love to see Microsoft’s other lightweight workhorse get nigh-universal connectivity. Whether that comes through an adaptation of the Surface Pro’s implementation, Intel’s new dedicated 5G modem or, say, a Windows 10 S on ARM implementation with Qualcomm, either would make the device that much more tempting.

Fast charging
It’s about time for this feature to become an expected standard on laptops. Fast charging techniques certainly have become an expected feature of high-end smartphones, so why not laptops? Such a move would only further solidify the Surface Laptop’s portability chops.

More colors
One of the Surface Laptop’s most attractive features is its propensity for color, with platinum, burgundy, graphite gold and cobalt blue options. Microsoft should absolutely blow this out of the water, as it very well could become the company’s iMac G3 moment.

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