 Wow, Microsoft finally made a laptop, and it's not just any laptop, it's a Surface laptop. We've always wanted Microsoft to make a laptop, and at first glance that's exactly what the Surface Book is. It has a beautiful 13.5 inch display that makes colours really pop, and it's noticeable. What's also noticeable is the unusual 3 by 2 aspect ratio that Microsoft has picked for the Surface Book. It's just like Google's Chromebook Pixel, and it takes a little getting used to. If you're watching a movie you'll get some letterboxing, but if you're browsing the web then there's lots of vertical space to read sites. If you use a browser all day, you might fall in love with this weirdly tall screen. While Windows laptops usually have terrible trackpads, Microsoft's Surface Book looks and feels just like a MacBook. It's a joy to use throughout Windows thanks to the glass surface and the pure size of it. Typing on the keyboard at first feels like you have to press too hard because there's very little key travel here. Once you get used to it, it's actually a lot better typing experience. I've switched back to other laptops but their keys feel mushy in comparison. The spacing between the keys is really ideal on the Surface Book, and it feels comfortable. I really can't fault it, Microsoft has done a good job. The really intriguing part of the Surface Book is the new fulcrum hinge. It snakes around the base and display of the Surface Book, and it looks awesome. It's like something out of an Alien movie. But it also reveals the weaknesses of the Surface Book. When you close the book down, the display doesn't sit flush with the keyboard, so there's an ugly gap. Dust, hair and all sorts of other nastiness now get regularly deposited onto the Surface Book keyboard because of it. It's ugly, but it's a compromise that allows for the biggest surprise of Microsoft's laptop. It's also a tablet. Yes, that's right, it's a tablet. That sounds insane but watch. You press this little button here and it unlocks the screen from the base. You pull it off and it's a tablet. Microsoft has built an entire PC into its display that doubles as a touch screen and supports a stylus. While the base unit and display combine into a laptop, that's not exactly lightweight. The tablet by itself feels comfortably light. Because of the 3 by 2 aspect ratio, it also feels like you're holding a sheet of paper that Microsoft insists on calling a digital clipboard. That actually kind of makes sense. You'll mostly want to use it for notes because using it as a tablet to play games or watch movies is a little awkward without a kickstand or case to prop it up. The fans of the Surface Book spin up occasionally when you use it as a tablet, but it doesn't get warm as a result. The new Surface Pen is greatly improved thanks to a new tip that has a nicer feel on the screen, but there's still a slight lag that will irritate artists who want to draw on this professionally. It's fine for note taking though and this pen snaps magnetically to the side. That's better than a pen loop, but it still always falls off in my bag. Once you're done using it as a tablet, you can simply dock the Surface back in and it stays coupled together with magnets and a new muscle wire lock that secures it firmly in place. Windows 10 does a good job of switching between a touch friendly mode and one more suited to a keyboard and mouse, especially if you enable it to do so automatically. There's still a lack of good touch apps for Windows 10, but I still like switching between using a laptop and straight into a tablet. It's pretty seamless and apps snap back to their positions so you can carry on working as a laptop and vice versa. While this sounds like the ideal combination of a tablet and laptop, there's still some drawbacks. The hinge isn't resistive enough like a regular laptop, so it bounces a little if you're typing in your lap or you touch the display while you're using it as a laptop. A lot of 2 in 1 Windows laptops have the same problem because they're trying to be a tablet and a laptop. A Microsoft has probably done the best job yet, but it's still not perfect. It's also a little heavy as a 13 inch laptop at just over 3 pounds and that's mostly because the base unit of the Surface Book is just pure battery mixed with ports. On some models, there's even a GPU in the base that will make the Pro apps and games better. Even on the base model, it's a fast laptop for the majority of desktop apps like Chrome, Photoshop and basic games from the Windows Store. While the tablet portion should last around 3 hours, Microsoft claims up to 12 hours if you're using it as a regular laptop. It's not lying, during our own Verge battery test, we found the Surface Book lasts nearly 13 hours for the base model without the additional GPU. It's incredibly rare for a Windows laptop to have great battery life and I'm amazed it lasts a full working day and more. However, if you're using lots of apps and really pushing it, then you expect around 6 hours of battery life. So is the Surface Book really the ultimate laptop that Microsoft claims it is? Nearly. I say that because sometimes I'm using the Surface Book and I really wish Microsoft had just made a pure laptop. The display wobble is irritating and the weird gap when it's closed means I have to clean the Surface Book every day. If Microsoft can fix the hinge in future versions and make it a little less bulky and lighter, then this could be the ultimate laptop. It has a beautiful display, amazing battery life and the keyboard and trackpad feel great. If you really need a laptop that transforms into a tablet, then this is probably the best one out there that I've used, but it's not the ultimate laptop just yet.