# Microsoft Surface Book

13 Hacker News commenters recommended Microsoft Surface Book and 15 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for its touchscreen and detachable 2-in-1 design and tablet-like build. The most common caveat is that the battery wears out or swells with age.

## Why people recommend it

- Touchscreen and detachable 2-in-1 design (5 comments): "The Surface Book or whatever is going to be your best option because you want the 2-in-1 features." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48354738)) "I used the touchscreen when I had a Surface Book when working at microsoft" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50282994)) "let the screen detach but keep the extra horsepower in the base" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50277031))
- Still runs well years later (2 comments): "Now I have a Surface Book 3 and it's still cool" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47677892)) "the thing still works like new" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48360100))

## What people warn about

- Battery wears out or swells (5 comments): "My big problem with it is that the battery got swollen a few years ago, pushing out the bottom panel" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47339460)) "it didn't age too well, the battery is giving up and the SSD is pretty slow" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48354220)) "the battery in my SurfaceBook went all Spicy Pillow on me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48364100))
- Slow performance over time (3 comments): "it didn't age too well, the battery is giving up and the SSD is pretty slow" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48354220)) "The Surface Book 3's being used at my job all launch Teams, Excel and Outlook like they're perpetually struggling to get out of bed." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48382076)) "After the absolutely abysmal performance using a SurfaceBook Pro, never again." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46796781))
- Screen detach and hinge problems (2 comments): "What sucked: the hinge, the split battery, mysterious problems with screen detach, the magnetic power connector, glossy screen." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48363728)) "it was really easy to accidentally lock the screen while removing it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48363458))
- Charger too weak under heavy load (2 comments): "if you were playing a game or doing many video encodes, the charger (100w?) could not provide enough power" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47339020)) "The provided charger could not provide enough power to the device when it was under heavy load" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47338951))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Microsoft Surface](https://hackerapproved.com/p/microsoft-surface.md): 64 recommend
- [Lenovo Yoga](https://hackerapproved.com/p/lenovo-yoga.md): 15 recommend
- [Microsoft Surface Go](https://hackerapproved.com/p/microsoft-surface-go-2.md): 12 recommend
- [Asus ROG Flow Z13](https://hackerapproved.com/p/asus-rog-flow-z13.md): 7 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Microsoft+Surface+Book+2&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Microsoft Surface Book", https://hackerapproved.com/p/microsoft-surface-book/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).