The Gloves Are Off, Apple. Microsoft Introduces the Surface Book -- and It's a Game-Changer

In case you missed yesterday's Microsoft Event: It was a big one.

Like many others, I grew up on Microsoft. Until a few years ago, I had never owned an Apple product. That changed when I purchased my first iPhone and iPad, and I must say:  I've been an Apple fan ever since. But I still use Microsoft tools, and I'm a fan of Satya Nadella and the new direction he's taking the company.

So, I was excited to watch the Microsoft Windows 10 devices event yesterday. As were many others -- the buzz we're witnessing since the event's completion is unlike anything we've seen in connection with Microsoft in a very, very long time.

Put simply, it was Microsoft's best unveiling in years -- but that's an understatement. Initial highlights included: 

• New developments with Microsoft HoloLens
• A new and improved Microsoft Band
• A new series of Lumia phones
• Release of the Surface Pro 4

But all of this was expected. What came next wasn't. 

What Everbody's Talking About

For years, Microsoft has resisted getting into the business of building laptops. The company has been perfectly happy to let others create devices to run their OS and suite of tools. But there's a certain advantage gained when a company controls the hardware and software -- it's what has allowed Apple to create the user experience that so many have grown to love. 

It's true that computers running Microsoft software continue to dominate market share. But over time, a great number of talented programmers, designers, and other creatives sought out Apple's MacBook Pro due to it's reputation for "best in class". Users valued the laptop's speed, power, UX and beautiful design.

With new leadership and a revised strategy, Microsoft has been forced to acknowledge a key fact: Partner companies haven't been able to design a laptop that can seriously compete with the MacBook Pro. 

So Microsoft decided to build one themselves. Check out Microsoft's first ever laptop, the Surface Book.

Microsoft reports the following features of the Surface Book (full specs available here via Cnet):

• 13.5 inch screen that delivers 6 million pixels
• Precision glass, multi-touch trackpad
• Machined magnesium body, fabricated from a single billet
• Newly designed, quiet, comfortable, and backlit keyboard
• PCle 3.0 solid-state drive, with up to 1 TB of storage
• Intel Core i5 or i7
• Nvidia GeForce GPU with 16 GB of storage, 8 or 16 GB of RAM
• 12 hour battery life

Microsoft corporate VP Panos Panay says the Surface Book is the laptop -- perfect for gamers, architects, scientists and even coders who need uncompromising performance, while remaining a joy to use and easy to look at. (He claims the Surface Book is twice as fast as the comparable MacBook Pro model.)

According to Panos, the combined abilities of Microsoft's Xbox and Surface engineers have produced something special:

"Ounce for ounce, pound for pound, this is the fastest 13 inch laptop ever made, anywhere, on any planet."

That's all impressive, but there's still...one more thing. (Wink, wink.) The Surface Book boasts a feature no MacBook offers.

This Microsoft Laptop Has Something Apple Doesn't

The Surface Book separates into two, allowing you to use the top half as a stand-alone tablet.

Want to move over to the couch to read that ebook? How about watch a movie in bed, or show your latest design to a colleague? Just pull off the top half of the Surface Book, and go for it. You can even use the tablet section as a digital clipboard. That's right, there's a new, redesigned pen. With an eraser.

I like.

The entry-level Surface starts at $1,499. with a 1 TB option that goes up to $2,699. It will be released on October 26th. Personally, I'm really looking forward to trying it out.

But here's the best news of all: With this move, Microsoft opens up all kinds of possibilities for the future. With top-of-the-line hardware designed in-house, the company exhibits more control over the interaction with its already great software.

Microsoft has fully entered an exciting new era. In the process, they've pushed major competitors a little harder than usual.

This should be fun to watch.

What do you think -- Is this the beginning of a new era for Microsoft? Have they upped the ante for Apple and others? Happy to hear from you in the comments section below.

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I also write for Inc.com. (You can find my author page here.) Follow me on LinkedIn or on Twitter @JustinJBariso. 

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