It was something that was hard to ignore when you used it on your lap; the screen would shake as you typed, as if the display was barely holding on for life. It made the Surface Book feel more like a prototype than an expensive high-end laptop -- not exactly inspiring. So when it came time for the sequel, the Surface Book 2, it was one of the first things Microsoft addressed.

"The hinges are completely redesigned; it's all from the learnings of the first one, because you want more stability," Microsoft's Panos Panay, the creator of the Surface line and its VP of devices, said in an interview with Engadget. "We redesigned the connection mechanism, we went to ceramics, we lightened the whole product."

Yes, ceramics. That's not something you'd typically find in a notebook, but its ability to deal with high temperatures better than metal made it the ideal material. Specifically, the notebook uses a small ceramic part (below) that works together with muscle wire to attach and detach the screen, as well as keep everything steady.

"We didn't invent muscle wire. But we went and found it and thought: How would you include it with a hinge that could lock these two together, with a mechanism that felt robust and premium?" Panay said. "You had to hear it when it was open. You had to know when it was locked... That disconnect moment should be emotional, it should be connected to you, you should understand it."