Surface Dial support hasn't exactly been widespread since Microsoft first introduced the accessory in late-2016, but some apps, particularly in the design space, have added novel support. One heavy hitter, Adobe Photoshop, has technically supported the Surface Dial, but in a pretty limited way: The accessory could only be used to zoom in and out on the canvas. Fortunately, Adobe is stepping things up a little more with its latest Photoshop release by adding the ability for the Surface Dial to tweak some select settings on the fly.

Announced as part of a broader set of updates to its suite of design apps (via The Verge), Adobe revealed that Photoshop will now allow Surface Dial to "change tool parameters without taking your attention from the canvas." This essentially just lets you change brush settings like opacity, hardness, and size by rotating the dial as you work.

It's still a fairly limited implementation, but it makes the Surface Dial far more useful in Photoshop than it was previously. As The Verge points out, other apps like Sketchable, which was one of the first to support Surface Dial, have enabled far more robust integrations.. Still, the added support arrives with convenient timing, just ahead of the launch of the new Surface Book 2. At the same time, Microsoft has also announced that anyone who buys a Surface from now through January 18 will get a free three-month trial to an Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan with 1TB of cloud storage.

Ever since I converted to the Surface Pro earlier this year, I've been slowly accumulating accessories for use with my Microsoft 2-in-1 PC. Today I use a Surface Arc mouse, a Surface Ergonomic keyboard, Surface Pen and Signature Type Cover if I'm working away from my home office. I've had my eye on the Surface Dial, a circular gadget that lets you twist, click and press and hold it to perform certain common functions within apps that support it.

It looks really cool, but after doing some initial research, I'm still not clear on the value of such a device for an editor like me. I use Photoshop to edit images but that's about the extent of my "creative" work, not including my writing for Windows Central and Mobile Nations.

I do enjoy new toys, however, and the Surface Dial is one of the few official Microsoft Surface accessories I haven't played with. So I started a thread in our forums, asking people who have experience with the Surface Dial for potential uses I haven't considered.

I know that the Surface Dial works with some apps that aren't specifically designed for artists, and you can do things like paste text into documents using one of the Dial's functions. But its value still seems limited to someone like me, and I'm already pretty quick with my Windows keyboard shortcuts. Logitech's cool new Craft keyboard has a Surface-Dial-like control built right in, and I'm intrigued by that, as well.

Do you have a Surface Dial? If so, do you find it valuable? Why or why not? Also, do you recommend it to people who aren't artists or "creators?" Hit the link below and let our community (and me) know.

From the forums: Should I buy the Surface Dial?

We've already seen the folks at iFixit work their teardown magic on the Surface Studio, and now they're at it again with its companion device, the Surface Dial. As a simple Bluetooth accessory, the Surface Dial is much less interesting on the inside than the Surface Studio, but it's still neat to get a look at what makes the device tick.

After everything was said and done, iFixit ended up giving the Surface Dial a 4 out of 10 on its usual repairability scale. While the ease with which users can access and replace the batteries earned the Dial some kudos, it turns out to be a tough cookie to get into. That's not all that surprising considering the amount of work Microsoft put into getting the feel of the device just right. Still, it's good to know the Surface Dial should be a pretty durable little device.

If you're at all interested in the inner-workings of the Surface Dial, this is pretty cool to see. For much more, it's definitely worth giving iFixit's full teardown a look.

• See the Surface Dial teardown at iFixit
• Check out our Surface Dial Review

Microsoft's Surface Dial is a new accessory that non-creatives may not much need, yet it intrigues anyone who sees it. The Windows 10 add-on has a ton of potential for artists, engineers, and maybe even you soon.

Why is it so cool? I look at what the Surface Dial can do today with an eye on the future.

What it is

The Surface Dial is a small, Bluetooth-enabled…well, dial. Think of it as an accessory, or a secondary – or even tertiary – level of input while using Windows 10.

Who can use it?

The Surface Dial is compatible with any Windows 10 PC running the Anniversary Update. Microsoft introduced the world to Surface Dial as an accessory for the Surface Studio but the device pairs and works on any computer with a Bluetooth connection.

The one current limitation involves using the device physically on the screen. Only the Surface Studio can do that although Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 should also get a firmware update early next year to allow users to place it on their display.

If you do not have a Surface Studio – aka most you – you just put it near your keyboard (preferably the left side if you're right-handed and use a mouse).

What does it do exactly?

The million-dollar question: Why would you need this? Surface Dial is primarily aimed at artists, engineers, and graphic designers. The device lets users call up pen, paint, brush, and measuring tools without lifting and moving the pen off the display. In short, it's an aide for drawing or creative shortcuts.

The kicker is that any app can support Surface Dial. Microsoft has open APIs for the device so that a developer can add support and specific functions unique to their app. That means there is a lot of potential here that will take a few months to be realized.

What apps support it?

Right now, Surface Dial supports the following apps:

• Bluebeam
• Drawboard
• Mental Canvas
• Sketchable
• Smith Micro
• Spotify
• Staffpad
• Windows (limited system interactions)
• Word, PPT, Excel (desktop versions)
• OneNote (UWP version)
• Windows Maps
• Plumbago
• Sketchpad
• Groove Music
• PewPew Shooter
• Microsoft Photos
• Paint

For instance, I'm using Surface Dial on my main PC as I write this review in Word. The Dial lets me scroll the document using my left hand with ease. I can also change functions and enable Zoom, Undo, or control the system volume (good for music).

To change features, you just press down on the Dial for one second. The device vibrates and displays an on-screen radial dial with a choice of function.

In Groove Music, you can switch tracks, scrub the track, control volume, or skip to the next track. In Microsoft Edge, you can scroll the web page, zoom, etc. Surface Dial instantly adapts to each app that is currently active with new choices set by the developer.

Obviously, for artists Surface Dial does a lot more useful things like pick the paint color, set brush width, zoom, undo, and more.

So, what's the big deal?

You may be wondering why is the non-artist stuff even interesting? Good question. Here is what I can tell you: Surface Dial allows for very fine-grain movement that is more sensitive and accurate than a mouse, keyboard arrows, volume buttons, etc.

Surface Dial feels like a luxurious knob for Windows 10 that lets you gently scroll, undo, navigate and more. While not an essential tool it's one of those 'nice to have' features for your high-end PC setup. In other words, you can make use of it every day for little tasks.

Worth the $99?

I don't need to convince the artists, engineers, and designers out there that they want to buy Surface Dial. There are other similar devices on the market already for those fields, and Surface Dial is just a new take on an old idea for those who draw on their PC or Surface.

At $99 Surface Dial is a simple add-on that takes two AAA batteries and easily pairs with any Windows 10 PC. For the quality of the device (it's made from aluminum) with its gentle, haptic-enabled feedback $99 seems fair for the Surface line, which has never been cheap or affordable.

Speaking of batteries MIcrosoft estimates that the two AAA batteries will last one year assuming 4-hours-a-day of regular usage. Some question why the Dial is not rechargeable and I think the answer is just really long battery life.

If you do not plan to draw on your PC or use Surface Dial in a professional creative manner, the $99 is harder to justify. I would not classify it as a must-have accessory that will revolutionize your daily activity – and Microsoft is not promoting it as such anyway.

Nonetheless, like a lot of Surface technology, it's just damn cool and fun to use even if you don't' draw.

Developers are just getting started with Surface Dial; there's no reason why we couldn't see support added to non-drawing apps or even light-action PC games. While I doubt there will be a required use for Surface Dial, there is a lot of potential here for this genre, and I'm excited to see what people can do with it.

Artists, get it now. Non-artists, you should only plunk down the $99 if you have nothing better to spend your money on, but keep an eye on what happens next.

See at the Microsoft Store

Microsoft is taking pre-orders now for Surface Dial for December 15 ship date although your local Microsoft Store may have some already in stock.

StaffPad, a popular music notation app for Windows 10, has snagged a doozy of an update. Perhaps the biggest addition in this update is support for Microsoft's new Surface Dial accessory. When paired with a Surface Dial, StaffPad gives composers a number of new and interesting ways to manipulate their music. You can check out just some of what StaffPad can do with the Surface Dial in the video below:

Of course, the big StaffPad November update adds a lot more than Surface Dial support, including some new actions and tweaks that should make writing music with the app more fluid. Here's a quick rundown of some of the highlights from this update:

• Support for Surface Dial
• Addition of drag to move or copy selected bars
• Direct addition of tuplets
• Additional print scaling options, including lyric scaling
• Improved support for printing of sketch layer strokes
• Bar number offset for score can be set
• When sharing scores in the app, email subjects are populated with score title
• When dragging to resize tuplets, the number auto-adjusts
• Pedal retakes can be erased individually
• Added keyboard shortcuts (cut/copy/paste/delete, playback controls)
• Improved file type deduction on import when file extensions are misnamed
• Various UI updates

Aside from the above highlights, the update also includes a number of bug fixes and all-around recognition improvements. Do note that the update requires you to be running the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. If you already have StaffPad, you should automatically be updated to the latest version. If you're interested in starting to write music with the app, you can grab StaffPad for $70 at the Windows Store now.

See at the Windows Store

Both he new Surface Book with Performance Base and the Surface Dial accessory are now officially on sale. While both new Surface products were previously available for pre-order, they're now officially available to buy at the Microsoft Store and Best Buy.

To recap, the Surface Book with Performance Base is meant to offer an extra boost in performance over the original Surface Book lineup introduced in 2015. The rather expensive model packs not only increased battery life, but also some extra graphical power thanks to an upgraded GPU. We came away pretty impressed in our review of the latest addition to the Surface Book lineup, but it is on the expensive side of things.

As an aside, Microsoft notes that it has also extended its trade-in offer for current Mac users through November 23 — just in case you were thinking of trading up.

• See at the Microsoft Store
• See at Best Buy

As for the Surface Dial, the new accessory allows some pretty unique interactions with apps that support it, as we've already seen. And while it's best paired with the upcoming Surface Studio, which will allow you to use the Dial directly on its screen, the Surface Dial can pair up with any Windows PC. At the moment, the Microsoft Store is sold out of its Surface Dial stock, but you can still order from Best Buy or pre-order from the Microsoft Store for delivery "later this year."

• See at the Microsoft Store
• See at Best Buy

Are you planning to pick up either new Surface product? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Though it was a relatively minor part of Microsoft's Surface Studio announcement, the Surface Dial accessory looks like it's set to make a big splash. In a new series of videos posted to the official Surface YouTube channel, Microsoft has highlighted how 5 different apps are already leveraging the Surface Dial to enable new, unique interactions that only add to the experience. Check them out in the gallery below.

Each developer has found a natural, unique way to use the Surface Dial in their app, and the results are pretty spectacular. On top of that, the variety of apps involved shows that the Surface Dial has true appeal as a tool across a number of different categories ranging from architecture to music composition and drawing.

As a reminder, the Surface Dial is available for pre-order now for $100, and is currently set to ship by December 15. While the dial works with all Windows 10 devices, it will require a Surface Studio to be used attached to a screen.

Are you excited to give the Surface Dial a try? Let us know in the comment below how you're planning to use it!

Thanks to Tanzim for the tip!

Debuted alongside the Surface Studio desktop PC, the Surface Dial is a hockey puck-like device that allows users to access a new radial menu using haptic touch inputs. Additionally, the Surface Dial can be placed directly onto the screen, producing additional screen controls directly on the display.

The Surface Dial will allow users to easily access and control the Surface Wheel, a feature which has leaked previously. Whether you're using the Surface Dial for creativity or more mundane functions, the Surface Wheel can be customized in the Windows settings, giving you access to volume controls, browsing features and more. The Surface Dial is designed to sit next to your Surface device on your desk with the keyboard and mouse.

The Surface Dial will work with other Surface devices using Bluetooth, but it's unknown whether the physical on-screen placement functionality will work with devices like the Surface Pro and Surface Book at this time. Stay tuned for more as we get it.

You can pre-order the Dial on the Microsoft Store in the US for $99.

See on the Microsoft Store

File this under speculation but recent information about a 'Surface Dial' and patents were revealed this morning in addition to Surface Studio. While the latter makes sense for an all-in-one Surface PC, many heads are scratching on what 'Surface Dial' could be.

A few weeks ago, Leon Zandman found references in the Windows 10 code for a radial controller that "can be paired and has haptics" for feedback. Twitter user WalkingCat posted some of the references as well speculating RadialController could be the software for Surface Dial.

Interestingly, back in June, Christian Jolicoeur tweeted an image of his Windows 10 Settings following an Insider update. The image references settings for 'Wheel' under Devices that are usually paired with a PC e.g. Mouse, Printers, Bluetooth, etc. The description of the app says:

There is also a toggle for Vibrate i.e. the haptic feedback references noted above.

Christian goes on to speculate that maybe this device is similar to Wacom's Express Key Remote, which has "17 customizable buttons" and a "Touch Ring" that "allows for instant one-touch access to timesaving shortcuts in all your favorite creative applications." That device is primarily aimed at graphics professionals and acts like a handheld shortcut for frequently used features.

Putting all those clues together and it seems as if Surface Dial is a handheld device for an artist to streamline their actions. The Wacom express Key Remote retails for $99, and that seems in line with what Microsoft would charge for a similar feature for its Surface line, including that new Studio-centric PC.

This information also meshes with the Surface Mouse and two Surface Keyboard desktop accessories already discovered.

Of course, with just two days lefts all should be made clear very soon.

What we expect from Microsoft's Windows 10 event on October 26