Microsoft just announced a new version of its popular Surface Book laptop with more powerful performance to take on Apple's MacBook Pro

• Microsoft is launching a new version of its Surface Book laptop-tablet hybrid that comes with better performance, improved microphones, and slightly longer battery life.
• The launch comes just after Apple updated its 13-inch MacBook Pro earlier this week.
• Aside from newer Intel processors, Microsoft is also offering the option to outfit the Book 3 with more powerful graphics.
• Microsoft is adding far-field mics to the Surface Book as they've become more common in laptops now that voice assistants have grown in popularity.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Microsoft is launching a new version of its Surface Book laptop with more powerful performance, slightly longer battery life, and improved microphones, an update that comes just after Apple refreshed its 13-inch MacBook Pro on Monday. It launches on May 21 and starts at $1,599.

The biggest change coming to the Surface Book 3 is its processors, which are getting an upgrade to Intel's 10th generation chips. The Surface Book 2, which was announced in 2017, runs on older 7th and 8th generation Intel chips depending on the configuration.

The new Surface Book is also getting a performance boost in some other areas as well. Microsoft is adding a new 32GB memory option and the choice to add professional-grade Nvidia Quadro graphics in the high-end model.

Like the previous model, the new Surface Book 3 will come in both 13.5-inch and 15-inch variants. But the cheapest configuration should offer more powerful performance, since it comes with a quad-core processor instead of a dual-core processor. The more cores a processor has, the better it generally is at juggling multiple tasks and programs.

That also results in a higher price, however. The Surface Book 3 starts at $1,599, whereas the Surface Book 2 began at $1,499 when it was announced.

Battery life is also a little bit longer, as Microsoft says the 15-inch model will last for up to 17.5 hours when connected to its base, compared to the 17 hours its predecessor claims.

Microsoft is also adding improved microphones to the Surface Book 3, an addition that seems especially important a time when video conferencing has become a regular part of the daily work routine for many. The Surface Book 3 has dual far-field studio microphones, whereas the previous model lacked studio-quality mics.

Still, even before the coronavirus pandemic required many people across the country to work from home, laptop makers have been putting a larger emphasis on laptop microphones in recent years. That's likely because virtual assistants like Alexa, the Google Assistant, and Siri have become increasingly popular now that they're available across laptops, phones, and home speakers. It could also be because tech giants like Microsoft and Apple generally target their high-end computers at creatives.

For example, Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro comes with an upgraded microphone array that the company claims reduces hiss by 40%. Lenovo put far-field microphones in its Yoga 920 laptop way back in 2017.

At the same time, Microsoft is announcing a new version of its $400 Surface Go tablet that comes with the option to add a more powerful processor compared to its predecessor, a larger and sharper screen, and slightly more battery life.

The announcement also comes on the heels of Apple's new 13-inch MacBook Pro launch, which features a revamped Magic Keyboard and Intel's 10th generation processors — but only for the more expensive variant that starts at $1,800.

Taken together, the Surface Book's improved performance and better microphones suggest that tech giants are increasingly targeting their pricier laptops at creators and those dealing with heavy workloads, differentiating such products from less expensive offerings. In addition to the Surface Book and MacBook Pro, Microsoft and Apple both sell cheaper lightweight laptops like the Surface Laptop 3 and MacBook Air, which are targeted at students and professionals in need of a general-purpose laptop.

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