Revealed earlier this month, Microsoft’s Surface Book pleasantly surprised audiences as a “one last thing” announcement during Microsoft’s Windows 10 devices event. Microsoft is obviously going after Apple’s Macbook Pro, claiming it to be “the fastest 13-inch laptop anywhere on the planet.” But, more than anything, Redmond is trying to show its OEM partners how building a Windows 10 laptop is really done.
If you’re a resident of either the US or Canada looking to grab a Surface Book for yourself, you can do so at any of the following retailers.
Microsoft Store
The first few tiers of the Surface Pro 4 are available for immediate shipping, while the better models won’t ship until up to November 20th. Surface Book is in greater demand. You’ll have to wait at least a few weeks, and up to six weeks on most models. The ship date of the top-tier, Core i7, discrete GPU, 16GB of RAM, 512GB hard drive model is January 22, 2016!
Some models should be available for purchase in Microsoft Store locations, but it’s anybody’s guess how many they’ve received, and how long they’ll last. Strangely, Microsoft’s website does not let visitors check in-store stock.
Best Buy
The majority of Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book models on Best Buy’s website are available immediately, but some are only available in-store — supposedly. We couldn’t find any listed near our Portland, Oregon office. A search of zip codes in New York, New York and San Francisco, California also met without success.
Amazon
Availability through Amazon is rather poor right now, with the majority of Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book models either unlisted, out of stock, or still listed as pre-order. Only the three most basic Surface Pro 4 models have been consistently available this morning.
Costco
Costco is also struggling with availability. It appears only one Book model is listed, and most of the Surface Pro 4 models listed are still in pre-order status. Again, it looks like the entry-level Surface Pro 4 is the easiest to get.
Staples
Staples now had availability of Surface Pro 4 models with shipping estimates of one business day. At the time of this writing, only the Pro 4 with a Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB hard drive is listed. The Surface Book is not yet available.
The other guys
Both the Surface Book 4 and Surface Pro 4 are listed on other major online electronics retailers such as Fry’s, B&H Photo Video, TigerDirect, and Adorama, and Newegg. However, none of them appear to have stock. Only Newegg provides and update — it indicates that Surface units will be available through its store no sooner than October the 29th.
Other major shops, like Wal-Mart and Target, don’t list the Surface Pro 4 or Surface Book at all.
Microsoft is your best bet, followed by Best Buy
Unsurprisingly, the best way to get either new Surface is to go straight to the source. Microsoft has the best availability overall. However, Best Buy does have some models in stock, so it could be a decent back-up. Your chances of buying a Surface device from anywhere else is, at the moment, pretty poor.
If you’re still on the fence — or just want to lust over what you can’t yet buy — check our full reviews of the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4.
