I've been using a dedicated GPU (switchable) model of the gen 1 Surface Book for four years, and (other than that gigantic hiccup where Intel screwed up the power management on their chips) I've loved it. Plays many of the fancier video games, battery life on the scale of 5-7 hours under web browsing workloads, great screen, and with WSL2 I get most of my Linux development needs covered as well. I can detach the screen and use it while I'm flying. I can break out the stylus when I need to draw diagrams in meetings (or... when I'm dungeon-mastering for D&D).
Many of Microsoft's products are simple and boring at first glance. However, when you really want to flex it to do something powerful, the features are usually there. Their products have so many years of development in them and it shows because their products stand the test of time, particularly in the enterprise. I'm glad there are lot of other vendors entering the market though as it keeps companies like MSFT innovating.
I've used it heavily for years, and I disagree with this assessment. I avoid it whenever I have the option.
In my current job we don't have either and its utterly frustrating how bad the alternatives are.
When I first heard of the Surface, what I thought it'd be: a bad laptop and a worse tablet.
After I read and heard people raving about how great it was for years, what I thought it'd be when I finally got to use one: a great laptop and a good-enough tablet.
What it was when I finally got to use it, very much to my surprise at that point: a bad laptop and a worse tablet.
I don't get it.
I think it's a combination of astroturfing and owners trying to convince themselves they made the right decision.
I wish the battery life was better, and I think Microsoft is missing out by not having the detachable keyboard have a small battery onboard so that you could use the keyboard on the side while you're drawing. But it's my favorite mobile device, and I'm not joking, astroturfing, or anything like that.
They actually did come out with an accessory that would attach onto the keyboard and do that, but it also was discontinued a long time ago.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-quietly-discontinues...
I assume both devices didn't do well enough on their own (otherwise they'd still be made today) to justify creating one that did both.
The original Surface Pro was decent, but generally slow and bulky. The first Surface Book, on the other hand, is still a great, versatile piece of hardware several years later.
Of course, YMMV - a tablet alone doesn't cover everything for me, but for some people needing a keyboard/base for connections may not work out.
Instead it is usually more like "Oh shit, a new Mirosoft product, I hope I wont be forced to buy it to stay compatible".