Microsoft announces the Surface Laptop 2

Another bit of expected news at today's big Microsoft event. Here's the latest version of the Surface Laptop. Once again, not a lot of changes on the outside of the product - which might be for the best. After all, the Laptop is presently my favorite member of the Surface family.

Product lead Panos Panay touched upon the keyboard, which is easily one of the device's best features, particularly compared to the keyboard cases found on other Surface devices. Like the Pro, the new device now comes in a much slicker matte black. And, like the Pro, most of the key changes are inside.

The new Laptop is said to be 85 percent faster than its predecessor, thanks to an on-board 8th-gen Quad Core Intel processor. The battery also gets an impressive 14.5 hours, which should more than get you through that flight. That's even more impressive because Microsoft is giving the laptop a brighter, thinner and higher-resolution display, too.

Pre-order for the device opens today, starting at $899. It will start shipping October 16.