Microsoft is cutting prices (and features) for some of its latest Surface devices. Last year the company started selling an entry-level Surface Pro tablet that didn’t come with a Surface Pen for folks that wanted to save some money and didn’t mind the missing feature.

Now the company is selling a $799 Surface Laptop with a Core M3 processor for folks that don’t mind a slightly lower-performance chip and Microsoft has also dropped the starting price for its Surface Book 2 line of 2-in-1 laptops from $1499 to $1199 by introducing a new model that has just 128GB of storage (the $1499 configuration with a 256GB solid state drive is still available).

Is that a good deal? Maybe.

On the one hand, 128GB of storage seems like a paltry amount for a laptop that sells for over $1000. If you want a 2-in-1 laptop that you can truly use as your primary computer, you might be tempted to pay more and pick up a model with twice as much storage.

On the other hand, Microsoft is offering a $300 discount here… and in the process highlighting how overpriced its component upgrades are. Want to buy the exact same 256GB SSD Microsoft uses in the more expensive Surface Book 2? Newegg is selling it for $170. Amazon has it for $111.

So if you’re handy with a set of tools, you might want to consider picking up the cheaper Surface Book 2 and then upgrading the storage yourself… maybe.

It turns out that while the SSD is one of the only components that can be upgraded, opening the chassis to get at the storage is a pain in the behind. According to iFixit, you need more than a screwdriver: you’ll also need some prying tools and something to apply heat so you can melt the adhesive holding the components in place.

In other words, it’s possible to upgrade the storage on your own. But it’s not easy. So if you don’t want to go through the hassle but you really want a Surface Book 2 with more than 128GB of storage, it looks like you’re probably going to be stuck paying a hefty premium for now.

Still, there’s a lot you can do with 128GB… particularly if you have a USB hard drive or network-attached storage device that you use to store files that you don’t need to have loaded onto the computer all the time. Having recently added a NAS to my home office, it’s amazing how freeing it is to know I’ve got a few terabytes of storage space left to fill up.

via The Verge

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6 replies on “Microsoft introduces a $1199 Surface Book 2 with a 128GB SSD ($300 cheaper than the 256GB model)”

  1. 128GB storage, while annoying, is not too difficult to overcome (external HDD, SD card adapter mirrored regularly, etc.).

    The real issue with the new low-end Surface book is the *4GB* RAM. That will really limit this computer, both now and even more so in the future.

  2. the surface book is overpriced, to go from i5 to i7 in canada costs an extra 670 dollars, because if you want 16gb of ram, you need the i7, which adds another 600 bucks for 8gb. Sure the i7/16gb comes with 512 ssd but still this is not worth it, for 3249 CAD plus taxes, I might as well get a cheaper ultrabook and a gaming pc.

  3. 128GB is a joke considering how much data Windows uses for windows updates. For example, some major Office updates are hundreds of megabytes, while major Windows updates needs several gigabytes. I wasn’t able to update to the latest Creator’s update in November until I cleared gigabytes worth of stuff.

    At least Apple is able to pull off moves like these because their updates are space optimized. Windows, not so much.

  4. That looks very Apple-ish a move.
    Apple did exactly that last year with the MBP. I can’t understand anyone buying a desktop with 128GB when a phone has got 256GB these days.
    It’s unusable.

  5. It’s getting so that you need to check out ifixit before buying anything. The first instruction for replacing my phone battery is to have a screen on-hand in case you break the old one.

    As to this device, I’d be concerned not only about upgrading, but also just replacing a defective drive.

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