You would have probably noticed that the detachable laptop is on the rise, a trend that grew over the past two or so.
It has been many years since the Microsoft Surface Pro launched. Generally, consumers aren’t particularly keen on traditional 2-in-1s. And it’s not difficult to see why if you are someone who makes extensive use of them.
The laptop form factor has some characteristics that run contrary to what you’d want from a reliable, user-friendly tablet. For example, its weight. In general, laptops weigh over three pounds and are just too heavy to be comfortably held and carried around as a tablet.
The Surface Pro has expanded screen real estate and resolution, while getting lighter and slimmer over the years. In comparison to its first-generation 10.8-inch predecessor, the 12.3-inch Surface Pro 6 delivers 28.4 percent more pixel density, 126g less weight and shaves 5 mm off the thickness. The latest Surface Pro 8 is Microsoft’s most powerful release, and combines the power of a 13” PixelSense™ Flow touch display, weights 1.96 lb.2 and 9.3 mm thick.
Bezels are slowly becoming an issue with growing preference for a higher screen-to-body ratio. The smaller bezels on premium laptops have long been a prominent feature that many reviewers consider to be a “modern” aesthetic characteristic. However, high-quality tablets need to retain some degree of bezel because people need something to hold, and holding a usable part of a tablet’s screen is suboptimal.
The 2-in-1 was compromised for a long time: it was difficult to fit laptop-grade internals in a tablet, and a full-sized keyboard deck gave them a place to live. But as processors get more power-efficient and more companies embrace hybrid architecture, things are becoming better. As a result, companies are able to pinpoint why customers have preferred convertible laptops for so long. Its portability and detachable offer many pros in a way non-convertibles couldn’t.
Slowly but surely, several high-profile models that were previously traditional 2-in-1s have been converted to detachable keyboard form factors. As more and more companies add the form factor to their premium lines, it seems Microsoft was right all along.