For years, the feeling seems to have been that Macs were better for creative work such as photo or video editing, and other artsy pursuits. Microsoft has fired a shot across that bow in a big way today. The Microsoft Surface Studio is a huge All-In-One (AIO) with specifications and features that should get any digital artist excited.
Front and center on the Surface Studio is its 28″ PixelSense display. Said to be the thinnest display ever built, this 3:2 ratio monitor features a 192 PPI density, which is said not to show any individual pixels no matter how you look at it. The display also features what Microsoft is calling TrueColor. Microsoft’s Panay Panos suggested that this system will allow artists to “render the world… as he or she believes it needs to be rendered.” Techcrunch explained that in more detail, saying:
What this means is that you can change your color space on the fly, meaning a filmmaker working in DCI-P3 can easily switch to sRGB to see how their content will look on TVs that don’t support the wider P3 color specification.
The display is attached to the rest of the PC by way of two arms attached to the base, which appear to allow you to effortlessly switch the display from what I’ll just call “work” mode to “studio” mode, where the display is angled down onto the desk in a similar manner to a drafting table. Finally, the display features a system called TrueScale, which will allow you to see how something will print in real time on your monitor. As Panos said: “One inch on the screen is one inch in real life.”
The base is where all of the guts and hardware are stored, and the guts are awfully impressive. Featuring an Intel Core processor (rumored to be a 6th gen i5 or i7) along with 32GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GPU, and a 2TB hybrid hard drive. You’ll also find four USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet, integrated 2.1 speakers, and Mini DisplayPort.
Most interesting though has to be the Surface Dial. This puck features haptic feedback, and will work either on your desk, or even on the Studio display. The Dial has global controls in order to work throughout Windows 10, and it will work not only with Surface Studio, but also with Surface Book, and Surface Pro 3 and 4 for off-screen interaction.
I have almost zero artistic ability, and even I get excited thinking about the artistic possibilities on this thing. The Surface Studio is available for pre-order now, and your local Microsoft Store should have demo units to play around with starting tomorrow (10/27/2016). If you’re thinking about buying one, it won’t be cheap. The Surface Studio starts at $2,999.
What do you think about the Microsoft Surface Studio? Tell us all about it in the comment section below, or on Google+, Facebook, or Twitter.
[button link=”https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/26/this-is-the-surface-studio-microsofts-new-all-in-one-pc/” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Techcrunch[/button]
