I am currently thinking of buying the Surface Book 2 15" over the MacBook Pro 15. My current Mac Pro is 6 years old and still working well enough for general purposes. However, I am ready to upgrade and thinking of switching to windows with the Surface Book 2. While I do enjoy the Apple ecosystem(as I have an iPhone & Apple TV) I want to try something new but a bit worried about the longevity of a windows machine. I like the 2 in 1 factor of the Surface as well as being able to take notes with the surface pen and also being able to do some casual gaming. My primary purpose is to do school work and do data analysis using STATA or SPSS for my job. However, I am a bit worried about if it will hold strong for at least 5-6 years and still run smoothly compared to a Mac. Any suggestions?
, it will keep running smoothly because contrary to old laptops new laptops have ssd's. Of course you should not install junk/adware toolbars etc and possibly do not let everything run in the background or start on startup (this really depends on how much and what kind of programs you install). If you are not sure about these things, prioritize Windows Store apps over .exe programs (also better for battery).
Naturally if you already have bought MacOs stuff, I don't know if it usable on Windows (probably differs per program).
If you do buy a Surface Book 2, get a good warranty with it.
Note however that there are other 2-1 laptops like the Yoga 730 (15 inch) or Acer Spin Nitro that have also pen support and decent gpu (nvidia 1050 gt). Both are much cheaper. Surface Book 2 is good choice however if you want to pay more for better battery, screen, faster gpu, touchpad, detach the tablet etc.