52 PCWorld FEBRUARY 2019REVIEWS MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP 2
Microsoft’s out-of-the-box experience feels a
little bit different with each new Surface, and the
Surface Laptop 2 is no exception. Like other
Surface devices, a series of screens marches you
through the setup process. There was
something new here, though: Not only did the
Surface Laptop 2 update itself before asking for
a password...it didn’t ask for a password. That’s
right—though I signed in with a Microsoft
account, Microsoft knew I had two-factor
authentication set up and merely asked to
authenticate the new Laptop 2 with my phone.
That’s a subtle yet powerful way of welcoming
you back to the Windows ecosystem.
Unfortunately, the Microsoft ecosystem still
includes the host of crapware that accompanies
most Surface devices: Candy Crush Soda Saga,
Hulu, Fitbit Coach, and more. Yes, you canuninstall it, and there’s an argument that
students might actually enjoy the diversion. But
for the rest of us, they’re unnecessary.A NEW COAT OF PAINT
HIDES SOME AGING I/O
While I really love the simple minimalism of
the Surface Laptop 2’s chassis—remember,
Microsoft designed it to pry students away
from Apple MacBook Airs—there’s no
denying that it’s now a bit behind the times.
Yes, a laptop is more “lappable” than a tablet
like the Surface Pro 6, but the Surface Laptop
2 still lacks the microSD slot of the Surface Pro
6 and the USB-C port of many of its other
rivals. There’s no rear-facing camera, either,
though that’s more forgivable.
In the year or four that a student should
expect to hold onto the
Surface Laptop 2, however,
USB-C devices will simply
become more prevalent. Not
only is the $80(!!) Surface–
to–USB-C dongle
overpriced, users have given
it poor reviews for charging
and functionality. A microSD
slot could make the entry-
level Platinum version (with
just 128GB of storage) much
more tolerable. What was
once a forgivable oversight is
now a blemish.
Instead, there’s the usualMicrosoft leans heavily on its OneDrive cloud storage service, and
automatically backs up your Documents, Pictures, and desktop—
but there’s no opt-in. If you dump a few gigabytes of benchmarks
into a desktop folder, they’ll be automatically (and quietly)
uploaded, eating into your data cap.