I have been using the Microsoft Surface Pro 4 for quite some time now. It has been my go-to computer for pretty much all the editing I do. It really is an amazing computer. But if I had to pick one of the downsides, it would be the small screen. Enter the Microsoft Surface Studio.
The Microsoft Surface Studio is basically an all-in-one PC with a built-in touch screen. Where it stands out is with its ability for the screen to tilt down into a type of drafting table. It uses the same pen functionality that can be found on the Surface Pro 4 which is fantastic for drawing, writing, and can even fully replace using a mouse.
In addition to the pen, They have introduced a new tool called the Surface Dial. This dial acts as a type of shortcut device that can be used to quickly transition through a menu of tools. It can also be used to change pen color and brush size while you are drawing. The Surface Dial works as a standalone device on your tabletop, but also has the ability to interact with the screen in order to give pop-out shortcuts and tools that can then be selected from with your pen or mouse. I am actually hoping that the Surface Dial will be compatible with my Surface Pro 4.
The computer is comprised of a 28-inch screen with a 4,500 X 3,000 (192 PPI) resolution and can be purchased with either an i5 or i7 processor and up to 32 GB of RAM. For the full list of specs you can visit the Surface Studio tech specs page. The main downside is the starting price of $3,000. While not terrible when you consider that a Wacom Cintiq will run you around $2,299, it's still a hefty price tag.
What do you all think? Has Microsoft taken the lead in computer innovation with the new Surface Studio? Do you plan to pick one up?
as a long time Mac user (since 1985) This Surface Studio might move me over to the "dark side" for the desktop (I will never abandon my MackBook Pro)
Anybody interested in buying a used kidney?
This coupled with Mac OSX would be perfect.
For photography I wish it covered Adobe RGB not P3.
Another thing I'm wondering is about the supposed 10-bit "true-color" capabilities with this system. If the system does truly support 10-bit color in Photoshop, I see that as a big plus. Historically, it has been nVidia's (GeForce) policy to limit 10-bit output to their professional Quadro cards. I've seen some people write that their 970/980 GTX cards have 10-bit option in the nVidia control panel, but I believe that´s only for the DirectX pipeline. With Photoshop, OpenGL buffers are used to support 10-bit per channel color. Unless something has changed, only the Nvidia Quadro and AMD FirePro cards support that feature.
I'm assuming Microsoft wouldn't launch with an advertised feature that was only half-heartedly supported, and that they've ensured the drivers for these graphics cards actually support 10-bit color that Photoshop can use, but has anyone tested or otherwise confirmed this?
Looks like the Surface Studio isn't going to be the only game in town, Dell just teased this little bombshell:
https://twitter.com/SurfaceProArt/status/793855974138257408