Microsoft came to NYC today to show off what is going to be it’s first entry into the desktop PC market with their newly introduced Microsoft Studio. Microsoft which has been primarily a software company has really pushed forward in trying to be just as good a hardware company with the Surface tablet, Surface Book and now the Surface Studio PC.
Although it was expected that MS would have something up its sleeve in terms of its first homemade PC it was shocking to see that PC be the Surface Studio and I mean that in the best way possible. It is gorgeous. No other way to describe it. It’s clean, well-built, functional, innovative and any other adjective you can use to describe beauty is what the Surface Studio is. It’s aimed primarily at professionals right now but I don’t think that will stop anyone that wants to get their hands on of these machines from buying one. There is so much technology involved with the creation of this machine that the $3,000 price point almost seems reasonable.
For starters, Surface Studio has a 28″ 1.3 millimeter LCD screen which makes it the “thinnest LCD screen ever built for a PC”, according to Microsoft. It’s fully touchscreen. It has a zero gravity hinge which allows you to bend the screen down to a 20 degree angle effortlessly for whatever your reasons although in the demos it was used for art and complexed art projects (which is also its intended purpose), capable of supporting 13.5 million pixels which adds up to a pixel density of 192 ppi, Core i5 and i7 processors (The version I used was not a base model and came with the core i7), 32GB RAM and a 2.1 surround audio system. Oh yeah, don’t forget the Surface Dial which is probably the coolest part of the whole PC. It’s essentially a peripheral that creates a menu on-screen when in contact with the screen on the Surface Studio and when using the new MS Paint app. It does give you other functionality in other apps and it does work with the Surface Pro 3 and 4 but for now on a limited scale. I imagine this will improve over time as apps are developed with Surface Dial use in mind and then it’ll be a necessity if you own this machine as opposed to an option. It’s $99 if you want it and if you pre-order within this first wave you get it free. But if you’re still not convinced check the video below from Tech Insider which shows what the Surface Dial can do, it’ll blow your mind.
In my opinion the Microsoft Surface Studio is an incredible PC and game changing for Microsoft. It’s a great first start for a company that just a few years ago everyone was wondering “WTF is going on over there?”. I got the chance to play with it and I was blown away and that doesn’t happen often. Just looking at the machine and having no choice but to admire its clean lines and beautiful screen was enough for me. Apple has been officially been put on notice today whether Appleheads choose to accept this or not. Objectively, no matter what platform you choose you have to admit that Microsoft did something big here and we all benefit. It forces other companies to step up their game and make better products and the consumer wins when that happens. Yes, it’s expensive as hell right now at $3000 but as new things go, they usually are. Remember how much the first flatscreen TV cost? Over time that’ll change and if Microsoft has success with the Surface Studio it’ll become more affordable. I’m rooting for Microsoft with this machine. It’s incredible.