When Microsoft announced the Surface Book 2 in October 2017, it boasted its new quad-core processors that Intel is making with its eighth-generation U-series chips. Oddly enough though, it was only the Core i7 model that had an eighth-gen CPU; the Core i5 model still uses the older dual-core seventh-generation CPU to this day.
But that may all be changing. As spotted by WinFuture, some retailers are posting listings for a 13.5-inch Surface Book 2 with an Intel Core i5-8350U, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD. The new configuration costs $1,499, which is the same price as the current model with the Core i5-7300U, 8GB RAM, and 256GB SSD.
The Core i5 model also currently comes with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage for $1,149, but it"s not clear if that model will be upgraded as well. It would seem logical for Microsoft to do so, but then again, it would have seemed logical to just launch the Surface Book 2 with all eighth-generation chips to begin with.
The new models still won"t include dedicated graphics, as that"s a feature of the Core i7 models. This also seemingly doesn"t apply to the 15-inch Surface Book 2, as that PC was never offered with a Core i5 to begin with.
It"s also worth noting that the CPUs being used still aren"t Intel"s latest. The Core i5-8350U and the Core i7-8650U are from the Kaby Lake R family, which is pretty much the same as seventh-generation Kaby Lake, but with more cores. Newer PCs are using Whiskey Lake, which is sort of like a second-generation eighth-generation processor family.