The 3 Essential Accessories I Use on My Microsoft Surface

The Microsoft Surface line has a variety of models in its line-up and was originally released to the public as far back as 2013. In this article, I'll discuss the three accessories that I cannot live without and use constantly on my particular Surface—the Surface Book 2.

My Surface

As mentioned above, I purchased my Microsoft Surface Book 2 back in 2018, around the time that my Surface Book was announced. The first thing that caught my eye about this PC was the form factor—it was the first and only 2-in-1 I saw that had a detachable screen which could also be used as a proper tablet.

Since I had just started working as a product specialist and trainer, I needed to conduct training classes and have a versatile laptop with which to be able to pull off the screen and use it as a tablet during presentations, then reconnect it to a solid body for easier carry and overall solid feel when working on it.

More than five years later, my Surface provided me with not only versatility in training rooms, but also flexibility while traveling (I still have a blast seeing the surprised look on the faces of those around me when I pull the screen off of my keyboard to continue working before our plane takes off). The incredible service that I have received from Microsoft through the years, makes me a solid lover of the Surface hardware line.

The Surface Dock

The Microsoft Surface Dock is a reasonable extension for adding ports that would normally be a part of your laptop core if not for Microsoft's need to streamline the body of the PC. With the essential ports like an Ethernet port, mini HDMI ports, and 4 USB ports, there's the option to connect monitors, USB devices like microphones and the like, and even speakers.

The one important thing to point out about the Surface Dock is the fact that it does use a proprietary plug that only fits the main body of the Surface or the connector underneath the tablet portion of the Surface. One negative that many may be disappointed to learn is that the Surface Dock for my particular Surface Book 2 doesn't have any USB-C ports, which is unfortunate since so many devices today have them (heck, there are Chromebook PCs that get charged via USB-C ports). Fear not, though, because the new Surface Dock 2 has not one, but two USB-C ports.

The Surface Pen

The Microsoft Surface Pen is a must-have accessory for a PC that has a touch-screen. I could list so many benefits and examples of how I constantly use the Surface Pen, but I'll offer only a couple: I use my pen when signing documents, making slight variations to an image, and interacting with applications using the hand-to-draw feature that Windows supports for it.

The Surface Pen doesn't cost as much as you might think and—with the money being spent on buying the Surface—it is an absolutely worthwhile addition to your PC bag.

External Keyboard and Mouse

It's probably an anti-climactic last list item to say that an accessory to use with a laptop is an external keyboard and mouse, but I will say that my view on this carries to (almost) any laptop's keyboard and trackpad, which is to say that I consider adding an external mouse and keyboard is almost always better than the built-in ones.

The Microsoft Surface Book 2 has both an incredible keyboard (backlit) and an excellent trackpad. So, why would I recommend an external mouse and keyboard? It comes down to the practicality of sitting so close to a fairly large PC screen. If, like me, you work at a workstation that is on the smaller side, it's nice to sit a bit further away from the main PC screen and interact with the PC via a connected keyboard and mouse. Naturally, you'll want to interact with the touch-screen with your pen, but otherwise, it's good to have an external keyboard and mouse to use.