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Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 starts at $999, 8th-gen Intel CPUs, arrives Oct. 16

Now available in black, the refreshed notebook is 85 percent faster than before.

Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials
  • More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
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Joshua Goldman
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Microsoft's Surface Laptop 2.

 Sarah Tew/CNET

At Microsoft's fall event in New York on Tuesday, it announced an updated version of its Surface Laptop. 

The Surface Laptop 2 will include eighth-generation Intel processors, making it 85 percent faster than the first Surface Laptop from last year. Despite the improved performance, Microsoft says it has up to 14.5 hours of battery life.

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Watch this: Microsoft Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptop 2 and Surface Studio 2 get more power, new colors.

Specs

  • 13.5-inch, 2,256x1,504-pixel touchscreen LCD
  • 8GB or 16GB of memory
  • 128GB, 256GB, 512GB or 1TB SSD
  • Eighth-gen Intel Core i5 or i7 processor with integrated UHD 620 graphics

Microsoft said it's been reengineered from the inside out and has a new display -- the thinnest touchscreen LCD on a laptop -- with a best-in-class contrast ratio. The keyboard, which is still covered in Alcantara fabric, is redesigned for faster, quieter typing.

Available in burgundy, platinum, cobalt blue and black, it can be preordered now starting at $999 and ships on Oct. 16. 

Microsoft Surface Laptop 2

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Read about everything Microsoft announced at its fall event here, and stay tuned for our hands-on impressions.