Microsoft Introduces the Surface Book

Microsoft introduced the original Surface Book in October 2015 as its first laptop. The unusual hinge and detachable display let the machine operate as a conventional notebook, a clipboard-like tablet, or a drawing surface.

Higher-end models placed an NVIDIA discrete GPU in the keyboard base while the CPU and core system components remained behind the screen. Detaching the display therefore changed the available graphics hardware. Microsoft had to coordinate power, PCIe-style device connectivity, and operating-system state so removal could happen without corrupting running work.

The Surface Book was also strategically important. Microsoft was no longer building only tablets to demonstrate Windows; it was competing directly in premium PC hardware with the same manufacturers that licensed its operating system.