Surface Book: Microsoft unveils its first ever laptop, says it's twice as fast as Apple's MacBook Pro

Microsoft made a string of big announcements at its Windows 10 devices event in New York. Saving the best for the last at the two-hour long event, the Redmond-based tech giant took on arch rival Apple and didn't pull any punches.

A face of Microsoft's new aggression is the Surface Book laptop, with which Microsoft makes its debut in the segment. Microsoft repeatedly drew comparisons with Apple's top-of-the-line laptop and insisted that the Surface Book is twice as fast as the MacBook Pro.

The Surface Book, will start at $1,499 (the MacBook Pro's prices start at $1,099). It will be available from October 26, with preorders starting on Wednesday.

And while the Surface Book is called a laptop, the screen is detachable so that it effectively becomes a tablet. The company touted its clipboard-like functions for people on the go. The 13.5-inch screen has a 3000x2000 pixel (267 PPI) display.

Microsoft says the Surface Book can deliver up to 12 hours of battery life. It is powered by 6th Gen Intel Core (i5 or i7) processor and has 8 GB or 16 GB of RAM.

The Surface Book also includes a feature that we don't usually associate with laptops - dual-cameras. The hybrid laptop has a 8 megapixel rear camera along with a 5 megapixel front camera.

The trackpad in the Surface Book is made of glass. Enclosed within a magnesium casing the laptop weighs 1.5 kg and comes with SSD storage options ranging from 128 GB to 1 TB.

The Surface Book also includes in its package the Surface Pen, that includes an eraser. Microsoft didn't miss the opportunity to take a dig at Apple's Pencil that doesn't have an eraser.

Tuesday's event shows a new Microsoft under a new leadership. Even while Windows remains at the company's core - it is aggressively pushing into hardware and raising the stakes in its high-profile battle with the likes of Apple and Google.

Microsoft also unveiled its flagship Lumia 950 and Lumia 950XL smartphones, along with a budget Lumia 550. The successor to the Surface Pro 3, the Surface Pro 4 also made its appearance. The company also announced an updated Microsoft Band fitness tracker and showed off a HoloLens virtual-reality device.

Microsoft has positioned the Surface as a laptop replacement and it is positioning the Surface Book as a powerful device for scientists, engineers and gamers who need a lot more performance than a tablet.

.