Microsoft plans to announce new Surface hardware soon, but it's unlikely to be a new Surface Studio. Some of the most iconic Surface devices now lie in the Microsoft Graveyard. I have a plan to fix that, and it will make Microsoft money instead of costing the tech giant.

I outlined 4 steps to save the Surface brand last month, but I've since thought of one more: Microsoft should license its abandoned designs to other OEMs. And the first design that another manufacturer should adopt is the Surface Studio, but as a monitor, not an All-in-One.

Surface is not the same as it used to be. Once an experimental family of devices that pushed hardware limits and tried new form factors, the Surface devices still being made hardly stick out. By licensing the Surface brand and select Surface designs out, Microsoft can keep the legacy going while relying on the expertise of another manufacturer.

The "wow factor" has diminished in part because Surface accomplished one of its goals. The Surface Pro lineup inspired wave after wave of 2-in-1s. The Surface Laptop showcased what a premium Windows laptop could be.

I get why Microsoft changed its plans; I just don't like it. The Surface Hub is dead. The Surface Pro X was merged with the main Surface Pro line, which is a downright shame. We're well past the days of the Surface Studio, Surface Book, or Surface Laptop Studio.

But a streamlined Surface lineup doesn't have to mean the end of innovative and useful hardware.

A gorgeous but flawed device

I've never used a device that captivated me more than the original Surface Studio. Almost 10 years ago, I was spoiled at a job that allocated me a Surface Studio as my main PC. I used to sit in awe of the glorious, thin display that felt like it was floating.

But despite its beauty and unique design, the Surface Studio was flawed. One of the reasons I could use that specific model was that I worked at a creative company, and the specs of the Surface Studio were lackluster at launch and aged poorly.

Microsoft refreshed the Surface Studio a couple of times over the years, ending with the Surface Studio 2+. That All-in-One cost $4,699 at launch and shipped day one with out-of-date internals.

But the Surface Studio was never about the internals. I genuinely think Microsoft failed to see what it created with the Surface Studio. The PC was marketed as an All-in-One, but what many cared about most was the display.

That's why it deserves a second life, even if Microsoft won't build it.

Resurrecting the Surface Studio

I'm far from the first person to ask for a Surface Studio monitor. A quick Google search shows several threads either asking why there never was a Surface Studio monitor or in which the top comment says there should have been one.

The Surface Studio was incredibly expensive, and it definitely wasn't because of its internals. I think it's safe to assume that a large portion of its cost was due to its monitor and unique hinge. That would mean a Surface Studio monitor would be expensive as well.

Comment from r/microsoft

Microsoft already licenses hardware designs and branding when it makes business sense. Surface should be no different.

Microsoft may not want to take the risk of finding that niche market, but another OEM could.

Manufacturers are always looking for halo products that stand out in a crowded space. The Surface Studio monitor fits that perfectly.

The risk would also be smaller for the right buyer. Surface devices are iconic, but Surface is a boutique brand with bespoke hardware purchased on a small scale. The right OEM could spend less while making the same hardware.

The concept of "Designed by Microsoft" products already exists. Several Microsoft-branded accessories are now licensed by Incase. Ironically, Microsoft moved away from those designs to prioritize the Surface brand.

While not the same situation, Microsoft has featured iconic brands on hardware made by other companies before, such as the Xbox ROG Ally X.

Microsoft could, and should, find a suitor to resurrect Surface designs. The Surface Studio's display would need to be refreshed with thinner bezels to meet expectations in 2026. Of course, it would also need to be made into a monitor rather than just the display of an All-in-One.

A Surface Studio monitor with a built-in Thunderbolt dock would allow people to connect their PCs easily to a gorgeous display. Anything from a powerful desktop PC to the next Surface Pro could connect to the Surface Studio monitor, bypassing the limits of outdated hardware inside the Surface Studio.

The OEM that licenses the Surface Studio design would be able to sell a unique, premium product without having to go through the design process or costs. The Surface Studio monitor could also be sold as part of an ecosystem of premium products from that manufacturer.

A bring your own PC approach would allow the Surface Studio monitor to shine as a display without being held back by dated internals that drive up the cost without adding value.

A licensed Surface Studio monitor wouldn’t fix the entire Surface brand, but it would prove there’s still value in the ideas Microsoft walked away from.

If Microsoft won’t build this hardware anymore, it should at least let someone else do it. The Surface Studio design deserves a second life, and licensing it out is the simplest way to keep Surface’s best work from fading into the graveyard.

Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.

What you need to know

• In a statement, Microsoft has confirmed that it has ended production on the Surface Studio 2+.
• Surface Studio 2+ stock has dwindled over the last few weeks, and there are no plans to restock it.
• Unfortunately, it doesn't look like a successor is imminent, marking an apparent end to the Surface Studio line as a whole.

Microsoft has ended production on the Surface Studio 2+, its ultra-premium all-in-one desktop PC designed for creatives and commercial customers. Starting at a whopping $4,500, the Studio 2+ was the ultimate Windows all-in-one with the best touchscreen display on a unique hinge that allowed the screen to lay down like a draft board.

Over the last several weeks, the Surface Studio 2+ has slowly fallen out of stock in multiple regions. Now today, the company has confirmed that it has no plans to restock the Surface Studio 2+, meaning production on the product line has come to an end.

"Customers can continue to purchase Surface Studio 2+ through retailers and partners with stock” a Microsoft spokesperson told Windows Central when asked for comment. “For areas reaching out of stock, Surface Studio 2+ will no longer be available for new purchases.”

So, if you’re interested in buying a Surface Studio 2+, you better hurry, as whatever stock is remaining is all that’s left. Unfortunately, it’s likely that the end of production on the Surface Studio 2+ also marks an end to the Surface Studio line as a whole. My own sources tell me there’s no Studio 2+ successor lined up currently.

It’s widely known that Microsoft cut back on its Surface portfolio in 2023, killing products such as the Surface Duo 3 and Surface Earbuds 2. I believe a Surface Studio 3 was also scrapped at the same time, which explains why there’s no replacement currently lined up.

This could change in the future, but as of right now it appears the Surface Studio is dead. The Surface Studio was never a mass-market product for Microsoft, mostly due to its incredibly high price tag and niche target audience. The product line was also always using last-generation specs, which made that eyewatering price tag even harder to swallow.

Unfortunately, the loss of Surface Studio leaves a pretty big hole in the Windows all-in-one space. While OEMs like HP and Lenovo have stepped up to produce some incredible all-in-one machines in the last couple of years, they are too few and far between. And none of them offer a high-resolution touchscreen display like the Surface Studio did.

Today, the Surface portfolio is focused on mainstream products that are most popular among prosumers and commercial markets. The Surface Pro, Laptop, Laptop Go, and Laptop Studio are all expected to be updated in 2025 with new processors and Copilot+ capabilities.

What you need to know

• Apple filed a patent for a "low profile computer" recently.
• The patent is a continuation of earlier applications from Apple and shows a computer with a display that can be placed into different positions and angles.
• Despite the patent not mentioning touch specifically, its publication has led many to discuss the possibility of Apple releasing a Mac desktop with support for touch.
• The computer design shown in the patent is similar to that of Microsoft's Surface Studio, at least when focusing on the form factor and the inclusion of a hinge.

Apple filed a patent recently that has many discussing the future of Mac desktops. The patent shows a computer with a display that can pivot into various positions, leading many to compare the designs to Microsoft's Surface Studio. While the possibility of an iMac or any Mac desktop supporting touch seems low, the patent serves as an interesting opportunity to discuss Apple hardware and the Surface Studio.

The patent was published on March 7, 2024 and reported on by Patently Apple. The patent includes dozens of images with varying designs, but the images below show the general concept, a computer with a display that can be positioned at different angles. The design could be beneficial to artists and creators.

As is the case with many patents, the text in Apple's patent covers a broad range of topics. Everything from handles on a computer to pivot for the display is covered by the patent. Also, this general concept has been around in Apple patents since 2010, as highlighted by Patently Apple. The recent filing is a continuation of an earlier patent that was also a continuation of an earlier patent. Some of those patents have since been abandoned, but the concept has been around for years.

Companies often file patents for technology that never sees the light of day, so there's no guarantee that the designs shown in this recent patent will be used in a future device. Additionally, companies often use very specific elements mentioned in a patent, so we could see a Mac featuring just a few things mentioned in this patent.

A Mac that supports touch?

While anything is possible, it seems unlikely that Apple will release a Mac that supports touch, at least any time soon. The recent patent doesn't even mention touch support from what I see. Speculation on a new Mac being a Surface Studio competitor comes largely from the fact that the computer in the patent looks similar to a Surface Studio. Even if Apple releases a device based on the designs in this patent, it could just be a computer with a display that can be placed at different angles.

The other outlets covering the patent highlighted the omission of touch in the patent text as well. I think many of us are just intrigued by the potential of a Mac that lets people interact with the computer using a keyboard, mouse, or touch. Apple has been famously hesitant to add touch support to macOS, even with the rollout of iOS app support on macOS for select applications.

Even if Apple just refreshed the design of the iMac and left touch support behind, that would be a welcome change. The iMac has a dated design that is lightyears behind the look of the Surface Studio. A more elegant iMac with a display that could be placed in different postures would be a lovely computer, especially with Apple silicon inside.

A new Surface Studio

Microsoft released the Surface Studio 2+ in October 2022. That PC had outdated specs at launch, and it has only fallen further behind in that category since. The Surface Studio 2+ was a minor refresh that upgraded performance and thermal design. But as its name suggests, the Surface Studio 2+ wasn't a full generation upgrade over the Surface Studio 2.

The hardware of the Surface Studio lineup has always been gorgeous. Years ago, I used an original Surface Studio as my daily computer, and I wish I still had one. What the device family has lacked is the latest internals. Microsoft often shipped new Surface Studio PCs with aging hardware. Using "laptop" variants of Intel's CPUs hasn't helped the Surface Studio lineup either, at least when it comes to raw performance.

I'd argue that a Surface Studio monitor would give people the opportunity to use the gorgeous and flexible hardware of the Surface Studio with whatever PC they'd like, but I admit that solution isn't as elegant as an All-in-One. Perhaps Microsoft could refresh the Surface Studio lineup with new internals from Intel and NVIDIA. If the company really wants to go wild, Microsoft could make a version of the Surface Studio with a Snapdragon X Elite.

While Microsoft has a Surface event coming up on March 21, 2024, we don't expect any news on the Surface Studio front. Instead, we expect to see the company unveil a new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop on stage. The Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 will have versions powered by a Snapdragon X Elite-based processor or an Intel Core Ultra processor.

With new Surface Studio news on the horizon and Apple's patent being far from a guarantee of future tech, it may be a while before we see a true or spiritual successor to the Surface Studio 2+.

Looking to expand the storage on your Surface PC? A great way to do that is with a microSD card, which many Surface devices support. If you're using a Surface Go, Surface Book, Surface Studio 2 or older, and Surface Pro 7+ or older, you're in luck. Expanding storage on those PCs is as easy as plugging in an SD card, which takes a little less than a few seconds.

Best SD cards for Surface Go, Surface Pro, Surface Book & Surface Studio

Which Surface PCs support expandable storage?

Not all Surface PCs support expansion of its storage via an SD card slot. Many of the most recent Surfaces, including the Surface Pro 9 and Surface Studio 2+, no longer support expandable storage in the form of an SD card or microSD card slot. However, many older Surface devices still do. Here's the list of all Surface PCs that support SD cards:

microSD:

• Surface Pro
• Surface Pro 2
• Surface Pro 3
• Surface Pro 4
• Surface Pro 5
• Surface Pro 6
• Surface Pro 7
• Surface Pro 7+
• Surface Go
• Surface Go 2
• Surface Go 3

Full-size SD card:

• Surface Book
• Surface Book 2
• Surface Book 3
• Surface Studio
• Surface Studio 2

The Surface Pro X, Surface Pro 8, and Surface Pro 9 all support the ability to upgrade the SSD directly without opening the device up, using an M.2 2280 drive. This is one of the reasons why the new Surface Pro's no longer support microSD card storage expansion. The Surface Studio 2+, Surface Laptop Studio, Surface Laptop, and Surface Laptop Go also support upgradable storage via the same M.2 SSD drive, but these devices will require the user to open up the device to access it.

Should I upgrade my storage with an SD card?

Adding a microSD card to your Surface PC is a great way to prolong its usefulness by giving you more space for apps and programs. Some Surface PCs to better than others at integrating the SD card reader, with devices like the Surface Go and Surface Pro hiding it neatly underneath the kickstand, making its inclusion seamless.

Other Surface devices like the Surface Book and Surface Studio do less of an elegant job, with the Surface Book's SD card reader on the side, and shallow so the card itself remains sticking out even when fully plugged in. It's the same story for the Surface Studio, though on there the card reader is on the back to it's a little more hidden.

Depending on the performance/class of the card you get, you should be able to treat the microSD card as additional storage, and Windows will allow you to install and run programs from it. Of course, performance of the microSD card won't be as good as your integrated storage, but it should be good enough for most applications such as Office, Slack, and Spotify.

What class and performance should I get?

There are many different performance classes of microSD card on the market, but you really only need to know about one: Class 10, A2, and U3. A microSD card with Class 10, A2, and U3 ratings is the top of the line, meaning you'll get the very best performance out of that card and should be able to install applications to it with no problem. 

In fact, most Class 10 cards should handle this task with ease. If you're unsure, grab one with a U3 rating to be doubly sure. Anything lower, and you might start to notice some issues when installing programs. Lower classes are better for storing files and music, not running programs from. 

Here's a breakdown of the different performance classes:

We've had 10 long years of Surface tablets, laptops, PCs, and phones. The product line is in a completely different place than it was when the Surface RT was first announced in 2012. In fact, the first Surface RT is considered by many to be a huge failure, leading to an almost billion dollar write-down before the Surface 2 was even announced.

So, that got us wondering, what have been the highs and lows of the Surface line over the last 10 years? Surface RT wasn't the only low point for the Surface brand, but there's also been great moments from other Surface devices that stand out above the rest. Here's our roundup of Surface products that we think mark the highest, lowest and mixed points of the Surface brand.

Surface RT: Low

It all started with the Surface RT, which ended up being a monumental failure for Microsoft at the time. With a $900 million write down not a year after launch, Microsoft bet big on the wrong product, but was it the software or hardware that let down this device?

Surface RT is the product that started it all for Microsoft. It’s the device that laid the foundation for the Surface Pro we have today. At the time, both the hardware and software were lacking. The 2-in-1 hadn’t yet proven itself, and the Windows RT platform was destined for failure from the beginning.

But the hardware did show promise. The product was praised for its incredible magnesium design, tight fit and finish, and super thin chassis. The kickstand was likened to that of a “luxury car door” and the colorful Type Cover accessories that launched alongside it made the device feel personal and productive.

But ergonomically, Microsoft hadn't yet nailed the fundamentals. Surface RT spawned the term "lapability," which was introduced because the Surface RT's kickstand and type cover design lead to an unstable typing experience when sitting the device on your lap to use as a laptop.

The Surface Pro that was announced alongside the Surface RT was a thicker and heavier alternative, with poor battery life and a much higher price tag. It was a "less-sexy" version of the Surface RT, but because it ran full Windows 8 and was compatible with all Windows apps, it was the device of choice for most people.

Microsoft only released one more ARM-based Windows RT product, that being the Surface 2 a year later in 2013. After that, the company switched to x86 with the Surface 3, and wouldn't return to the ARM architecture until Surface Pro X in 2019.

Surface Pro 3: High

It’s widely agreed that the Surface form factor didn’t hit its stride until the launch of the Surface Pro 3 in 2014. This was the first big design change for the product line, shifting from a 16:9 display and two-stage kickstand to a much larger 3:2 display and friction-hinge that allowed for positioning at any angle.

This was the point where for many, the Surface Pro form factor became a viable Windows PC. Before this, the Surface Pro line was a thick tablet with poor battery life that was too small to truly use as a laptop. The Surface Pro 3’s larger 12.-inch display, paired with improvements to the kickstand and keyboard cover propelled Surface from failure to success, and fixed most of the lapability issues that plagued the first few Surface devices.

In fact, this design would prove so popular amongst users that Microsoft ended up keeping its design with minimal changes for 7 whole years, right up to the Surface Pro 7+ which launched in January 2021. It certainly stood the testament of time. Compared to the Surface Pro 1 and Surface Pro 2, it was thin, light, portable, and much more fun to use.

As mentioned, Microsoft would make minor tweaks to this design over the next 7 years. The Surface Pro 4, which launched a year later in 2015, increased its display size by 0.3-inches and introduced Windows Hello facial recognition, something we take for granted on the Surface line today.

Then, with the Surface Pro 5, which launched two years later in 2017 (and was simply dubbed "Surface Pro" at the time) debuted with slightly rounded edges on the chassis. The final major change made to this Surface Pro design was the inclusion of a removable SSD with the Surface Pro 7+. 

Ultimately, this design was a winner for Microsoft and the Surface line as a whole. One could say the success of Surface Pro 3 is a big reason why Microsoft is still shipping new Surface products every year, and expanding its portfolio with new form factors too. Surface Pro is the money-maker, and it started with the Surface Pro 3.

Surface Book: Mixed

The Surface Book is a hard one to rank. To many, it’s one of Microsoft’s more unique and exciting products to date. When it was announced, it was unveiled in a way that built hype like no other product I’ve seen.

It was revealed as a laptop, and was demoed on stage as a laptop. But at the very end of the presentation, Microsoft decided to drop a “one more thing” moment and pull the screen away from the keyboard base. It’s a tablet too?! Just magical.

But the launch of the Surface Book was anything but smooth. The product launched with severe firmware issues thanks to the buggy launch of Intel’s Skylake chips, which led to overheating, thermal throttling, and battery draining even when the Surface Book was “off” in a bag.

Microsoft had much more success with the Surface Book 2, but it became clear soon after that this design was going to limit the kind of power Microsoft could put into it. Surface Book never shipped with more than an Ultrabook class processor, because the design and thermals simply wouldn’t allow for it.

As a result, power users looking for a Surface that had more guts in the CPU department were forced to look elsewhere, as the Surface Book couldn’t deliver that kind of power at a sustainable rate. The product design was flawed from the beginning. A cool concept no doubt, but it wasn’t able to deliver the level of power many customers expected from a flagship Surface laptop.

This came to a head with the Surface Book 3, which received mixed reviews from people who wanted a true laptop workstation, but were let down by the anemic laptop-class CPU. 

Surface Book was a beautiful product, but was flawed from a design perspective, as it was thermally limited and didn't pack enough oomph for the power users it was designed for.

Surface Studio: High

Surface Studio is an interesting one. It’s a one-of-a-kind PC for sure. You still cannot find an all-in-one on the market that offers what the Surface Studio offers from a form factor and design perspective. It has a beautiful 28-inch touchscreen display, a clean design, the ability to move between upright and drafting positions, and supports pen too. 

It’s a beautiful product that I'd go so far to say is Microsoft's best looking Surface to date, but it's one that I wish Microsoft would iterate on further with future versions. It has the potential to be great, but each one has launched with semi-outdated specs so far.

Surface Studio 1 launched with a 6th-generation laptop processor, which just didn’t have the guts to deliver true flagship AiO power. The Surface Studio 2 launched a couple of years later with an outdated 7th-generation laptop chip, which again, wasn’t enough for power users looking for a flagship desktop PC from Microsoft.

I'm marking the Surface Studio as a high because it truly is a one-of-a-kind product, and I'm still using a Surface Studio 2 to this day, even with its very aged CPU and GPU. 

The next Surface Studio needs to launch with a beefier CPU, modern GPU options, and most importantly, the ability to use its displays with other devices. That would prolong the shelf life of this beautiful panel.

Surface Laptop: High

By 2017, Microsoft had been shipping 2-in-1 PCs for a handful of years, but there's was a huge chunk of the PC market that simply doesn't want a 2-in-1 computer. Some prefer a traditional clamshell style laptop, and Microsoft delivered just that with the Surface Laptop.

The Surface Laptop is an interesting product for the Surface line, as it’s the only Microsoft PC that isn’t trying to push a unique form factor experience. It’s a literal laptop, competing head-to-head with the likes of a MacBook Air or Dell XPS 13. Its only unique aspect is that it can be configured with an Alcantara keyboard deck, something I haven’t seen offered on any other laptop to date.

It also launched with Windows 10 in S mode, a failed attempt at locking down the Windows platform to the Microsoft Store. Luckily, you could switch out of S mode with ease.

Surface Laptop's design was so iconic, Microsoft continues to use it to this day with the Surface Laptop 4. The only notable design change in the last five years is with the keyboard deck, where Microsoft introduced metal keyboard deck options alongside Alcantara with the Surface Laptop 3. It also increased the size of the trackpad, and launched a 15-inch version. 

Some would look at the Surface Laptop and consider it a "low" for the Surface line, as it doesn't try to be unique like other Surface products are. But, I'd argue it's a high because it marked the moment that the Surface brand became solidified as more than just an experiment. This is a product line that's here to stay, and I feel the Surface Laptop marked that moment for Microsoft.

Surface Pro X: Mixed

Surface Pro X was a glimpse of the future for the Surface Pro line. At the time of its announcement in 2019, the Surface Pro had been rocking the same design for five years, and critics were getting a little tired of it. So, with the Surface Pro X, Microsoft unveiled an all-new design that offered a preview of what's to come for the main Surface Pro line from a design perspective.

It was super thin, light, and featured a larger 13-inch display and new Type Cover and Pen accessories built specifically for this new design. Externally, it was a much nicer looking Surface Pro, but it was what's on the inside that drops this product down from a "high" to a mixed.

Surface Pro X was powered by a custom Snapdragon 8cx processor, known as the SQ1. It was Microsoft's first custom ARM processor with built-in LTE, but it came at the cost of performance. Surface Pro X launched with Windows 10 on ARM, which ran most apps in an emulation later, and was completely incompatible with x64 applications.

Surface Pro X was a mixed bag because it was a beautiful product that was held back by the infancy of its silicon and platform. Today, Windows on ARM is in a much better place, with support for x64 apps and upcoming more powerful chips that will runs apps in emulation with better performance. 

In fact, I'd go so far to say the Surface Pro X launched as a low, but has transformed itself into a high thanks to Windows 11, and is only going to get better later this year with the launch of a new Surface Pro X with updated silicon. 

Surface Duo: Mixed

Ah, yes. The Surface Duo. Interestingly, the launch of this product went similarly to that of the Surface Book. It was unveiled on stage to much fanfare as a “one more thing” moment, but when it actually hit store shelves, buyers realized this product was not ready for prime time.

The Surface Duo was plagued with very buggy software right out of the gate, and it would take Microsoft more than 12 months to get the device to a point where one would consider it stable enough for everyday use.

Surface Duo 2 came along and fixed many of the original Surface Duo’s shortcomings, including better cameras and displays, 5G, a flagship processor, and NFC. I’ve been using a Surface Duo 2 as my primary phone since it launched, and I absolutely love it.

Just like the Surface Pro X, the Surface Duo line shipped as a low, but has transformed into a high for the Surface brand. It’s a great product that I'd be happy to recommend to any tech fans looking to try something new to replace their smartphone. 

Surface Neo: Low

Surface Neo was announced right alongside the Surface Duo, except the Surface Neo never actually shipped. There’s probably good reason for that, but this is certainly a low point for the brand, as it’s an example of Microsoft failing to deliver a product that it thought it could make. Going so far as to announce it to the world, only to cancel those plans just half a year later doesn't look very good.

Microsoft could still ship the Surface Neo at some point, but it definitely won't be shipping with the dedicated version of Windows they announced alongside it. Windows 10X was designed for dual-screen PCs in mind, but that OS was scrapped in favor of Windows 11, and the dual-screen PC idea was put on ice.

I have a feeling Microsoft would like the world to forget the Surface Neo even happened.

Surface Laptop Studio: High

The Surface Laptop Studio is Microsoft’s attempt at fixing the Surface Book. It was designed by the Surface Book team, and is the replacement to the Surface Book line. In almost every regard, it fixes the big issues that the Surface Book had. It has a beefier CPU, a better GPU, good battery, and a high-refresh rate screen.

It still maintains that 2-in-1 convertible functionality, albeit not as a detachable display. The Surface Laptop Studio’s display can be pulled forward into a Studio mode, which allows for use of the pen when required, but without sacrificing on thermals or CPU power.

While there’s something to be said about the design of the Surface Book, the Surface Laptop Studio is the better product from a functionality perspective.

What do you think?

So those are our picks for high and low moments throughout the Surface line's lifecycle. It's been a rollercoaster for sure, but that's what makes Surface so fun. A lot of what Microsoft puts out into the world is experimental and new, so there's bound to be teething issues along the way. But often enough, the company is able to ship great products that really do push the boundaries in design and form factor.

Here's to the next 10 years of Surface! 

What you need to know

• Microsoft recently rolled out updates for the Surface Laptop 1, 2, and 4.
• The company also released a firmware update for the Surface Studio.

Microsoft has fresh firmware updates for several Surface devices this week. The Surface Laptop 4, 2, and 1 have updates, as does the Surface Studio (1st Gen). As is normally the case, the updates don't have any new features. They do, however, improve stability, reliability, and security.

Here's everything in the update for the Surface Laptop 4, as found on its support page:

The changelog for the Surface Laptop 2 is much shorter. The original Surface Laptop shares the same changelog:

The Surface Studio (1st Gen) has the following changes:

You can get these firmware updates now through Windows Update.

What you need to know

• The original Surface Studio has a new firmware update.
• The update addresses a bugcheck when the PC resumes from hibernation.
• The update also improves system stability.

The original Surface Studio has a new firmware update available. The update addresses a bugcheck that occurs when devices resume from hibernation and also improves system stability. As is the case with normal firmware updates, it doesn't include any new features.

The Surface Studio originally launched in 2016. Featuring a gigantic floating display and an all-in-one form factor, the Surface Studio turns heads. It's since been succeeded by the Surface Studio 2 that has a better GPU and other improvements, but it's still a beautiful piece of hardware.

Here's everything that's new in the latest Surface Studio firmware update:

To receive this firmware update, your Surface Studio needs to be running Windows 10 version 1903 or newer. The update started rolling out gradually on January 8, so you might not see it yet.

It's been some time since we've seen an update to the Surface Studio. In our piece on what we want to see from Surface in 2021, we discuss the possibility of a Surface Studio 3. In the meantime, Microsoft announced the Surface Pro 7+.

What you need to know

• Microsoft pushed new firmware updates to the Surface Pro X and Surface Studio today.
• These updates bring various improvements to system stability and battery performance.
• You can grab these updates now via Windows Update.

Microsoft released a fresh set of firmware updates for both the Surface Pro X and first-gen Surface Studio today. The updates largely focus on improving system stability across both PCs. However, the Surface Pro X also received some extra attention to battery performance, audio performance, and more.

Here's a look at what's new in each set of updates according to the Surface Update History page.

Surface Pro X

• Qualcomm Adreno 680 GPU: 26.18.1040.0000 - improves the Microsoft Teams app experience and resolves intermittent display issues.
• Qualcomm Aqstic: 1.0.0770.0000 - improves device audio performance.
• Qualcomm Aqstic: 4.0.0710.0000 - improves device audio performance.
• Qualcomm Hexagon 690 DSP: 1.0.1040.0000 - resolves device bugcheck.
• Qualcomm Hexagon 690 DSP: 1.0.1040.0000 - resolves device bugcheck.
• Qualcomm Memory and File System Device: 1.0.1040.0000 - resolves device bugcheck.
• Qualcomm System Manager Device: 1.0.1040.0000 - resolves device bugcheck and device crash.
• Qualcomm Wi-Fi B/G/N/AC (2x2) Svc: 1.0.1020.0000 - addresses potential security updates and improves connection reliability.
• Surface Pro X Qualcomm Aqstic: 1.0.0820.0000 - improves device audio performance.
• Surface Qualcomm Aqstic: 1.0.820.0 - improves device audio performance.
• Surface System Aggregator: 14.105.139.0 - improves battery performance and reporting.
• Surface UEFI: 3.477.140.0 - improves system stability.

Surface Studio

• Intel iCLS Client Extension: 1.56.87.0 - addresses security updates and improves system stability.
• Intel ICLS Client - Software devices: 1904.12.0.1208 - addresses security updates and improves system stability.
• Intel Management Engine Interface – System: 1914.12.0.1256 - addresses security updates and improves system stability.
• Intel Camera IR – System devices: 1.0.31.1 - addresses security updates and improves system stability.
• Surface Integration Service Device – System devices: 5.91.139.0 - addresses security updates and improves system stability.
• Surface ME - Firmware: 11.8.70.3626 - addresses security updates and improves system stability.
• Surface UEFI – Firmware: 119.3195.768.0 - addresses security updates and improves system stability.

This is the first set of firmware updates for the Surface Pro X since April, and the first for the Surface Studio since January. Both updates are available to download from Windows Update now.

I think it's safe to say that the unveiling of the original Surface Studio back in 2016 was nothing short of magical. While we did know that Microsoft was working on a desktop PC, none of us were quite expecting what we were getting when its sizzle video started playing. An all-in-one PC, beautiful enough to rival the iMac, but with a hinge mechanism that transforms the display into a draft board when required.

The Surface Studio is just so "Surface," taking a form-factor that's been standard in the industry for a long while and turning it on its head. What if an all-in-one could be more than just a screen with a PC behind it, that's what Surface Studio tried to answer, and it did. It's the first all-in-one that's also a bit more than an all-in-one, it's a digital canvas for artists and creators too. But the Surface Studio is now two years old, so how is it holding up in 2019?

Design

Kicking things off with design, the Surface Studio is still a looker in 2019. I'd argue it's still the best looking all-in-one PC on the market today, which is no small feat. Apple appears to have dropped the ball in design innovation these last few years, leaving the gate open for hardware makers like Microsoft to leave their mark. And Microsoft nailed it with the Surface Studio, so much so that it's not tweaking the design in the Surface Studio 2 too much, launching in just a few weeks in the United States.

The actual computer inside the tiny base that holds up the display, which keeps everything looking very clean on a desk. Unfortunately, the Surface Studio isn't a PC you can tinker with easily, although it's technically possible to do so. There are even some upgradable components, but Microsoft doesn't recommend opening the Surface Studio at all.

The base itself is not super big, and I noticed recently that the Surface Go is the exact width of the Surface Studio base. That can't be a coincidence. I've also noticed that the fans push relatively warm heat out the right side of the base, so don't put anything there that you wouldn't want slightly warmed. I usually put my cookies there.

The "arms" that hold up the display are chrome, meaning they're super shiny and can show fingerprints and scratches of you treat them poorly. However, in my time with the Surface Studio, I haven't ever really needed to touch the arms at all, meaning mine is still immaculate. You can control the angle of the display just by holding it on either side, and you shouldn't ever need to touch the arms. The chrome coating looks excellent alongside the platinum finish of the Surface Studio.

There are only three buttons on the entire device; power, volume up, and volume down. All three buttons are still very tactile and satisfying to press. I only recently started using the power button the way I use the power button on my Surface Book 2 and Surface Go: as a sleep button. If I step away from my PC, I can tap the power button and put the PC to sleep. It's so much faster than using the Start menu.

Display

The display on the Surface Studio is by far its most stand-out feature. It's just such a beautiful display and still holds up in 2019 by a long-shot. It's a 4500x3000 resolution panel, which means Windows 10 will have to scale up its UI so that you can see it, but I find the default scaling of 200 percent to be a little too much. Everything is just slightly too big for my liking, so I usually drop the scaling to 175 percent instead.

It's a 28-inch display in the 3:2 aspect ratio, which I adore. I no longer buy 16:9 laptops or PCs, because they feel somewhat cramped. The aspect ratio makes the screen feel much larger than it actually is, which made switching from my 34-inch ultrawide monitor a much smoother transition.

Being able to pull the screen down into draft mode is super awesome. The transition is smooth, and the display feels weightless. I'm not an artist, so I don't use the Surface Studio in its draft mode nearly as much an artist would, but even as a non-artist, I've found a use for it. With my stand-up desk, when standing, I find it's sometimes much easier to use the Studio in draft mode thanks to its multitouch display which lets me poke around Windows. Sometimes using touch is just easier.

Performance

The Surface Studio was never hailed for being the most powerful PC in the world, even at launch, meaning its specifications today in 2019 aren't all that peachy. My specific configuration is rocking a 6th Gen Intel Core i7-6820HQ with 16GB RAM and a 1TB hybrid drive. It's also rocking a GTX 965M, which isn't very powerful either. It's very apparent that the specifications in the Surface Studio are its worse asset, and its a real shame, but it's not as bad as it may sound.

If I'm honest, the 6th Gen Core i7 is more than fine for even heavy tasks in 2019. I edit videos, do a bit of photoshop, and I'm usually running 10+ programs on my PC at any given time, with plenty of tabs open in Edge. The Surface Studio doesn't choke doing any of these tasks, even if the CPU is old and designed primarily for laptops. The 16GB RAM helps and is still competent even today. Of course, rendering video isn't as fast as it could be on more powerful PCs, but editing those videos is do-able.

Where the Surface Studio utterly fails is with its hybrid drive system, which frankly sucks in every way, shape, and form. It's just not good, and for the price you pay for the original Surface Studio, should never have been in there to begin with. It's an awful experience, as everything feels sluggish compared to a pure SSD system. Windows 10 itself is on the 64GB m.2 SSD, and the hybrid system will move your most used apps over to the SSD too, but everything else sits on the 1TB spinning drive, which sucks.

I noticed that things like closing windows would sometimes lag a little, for no reason. So, after a while, I decided I was going to risk it and upgrade both internal drives to something much more capable. To upgrade the drives, you have to take apart the whole base, including the heatsink and motherboard. It's such a pain, but let me tell you, the pain was absolutely worth it.

I swapped out the m.2 drive and the spinning drive for a 512GB m.2 SSD and a 512GB 2.5-inch SSD. The "hybrid" system does go away if you do this unless you do some trickery with backups and the Intel Storage drivers. I didn't bother with all that, as I was planning to use both drives separately anyway. Ever since I did this, the Surface Studio has been an absolute breeze to use. The HDD inside the Surface Studio is what holds it back more than anything. Upgrading that to an SSD improves performance dramatically, even in day-to-day use.

In regards to gaming, the Surface Studio isn't a gaming PC. Not really. The GTX 965M inside can do it, but only if you drop your resolution to around 1080p and play the game on medium to high graphics. The more expensive Surface Studio comes with a GTX 980M, which is much more capable, but still not amazing in 2019, especially compared to things like the GTX 1060 through to GTX 2080. The dedicated graphics in the Surface Studio are there more for video rendering and photoshop than pure gaming.

Final thoughts

Should you buy the Surface Studio in 2019? No. That answer may be of surprise to many of you considering how much I just praised it, but that's only because I manually upgraded the internal spinning disk to an SSD. I absolutely cannot recommend this device for the price you pay with that hybrid drive system installed by default. Not in a million years.

Microsoft is still selling the Surface Studio 1 for full price too, which is unacceptable. For that price, you're better off waiting for the Surface Studio 2, which does have an SSD in it by default. The only time I'd say buying a Surface Studio 1 in 2019 is a good idea is if you can find it for less than $2000, and are willing to upgrade the drives yourself. Anyone looking for real power should probably flesh out for the new Surface Studio 2 starting at $3500 though.

Microsoft really needs to drop the price of the Surface Studio 1 in its store. It does sell refurbished models for as "low" as $2400, but that's still too much. Overall, the original Surface Studio is holding up super well for me in 2019. That is, with the manually upgraded internal drives of course. I don't think I'd be saying the same thing if I didn't have two SSDs inside the machine. That hybrid drive is the Surface Studio's Achilles heel.

• See Surface Studio at Microsoft
• See Surface Studio 2 at Microsoft

What you need to know

• A new Surface commercial features NFL athletes using a wide range of Surface devices.
• The ad has athletes like Travis Kelce and Von Miller ironically saying, "ordinary like me?"
• The commercial includes a wide range of Surface devices, including the Surface Laptop, Surface Book, Surface Studio, and Surface Pro.

Did you ever think you wanted a Surface ad featuring NFL tight end Travis Kelce twerking and NFL defensive end Myles Garrett reading poetry? Regardless, you now have it to behold in all of its glory. A new Surface ad includes several NFL athletes using Surface devices off the football field.

The ad starts out with a diminishing voice telling you to keep your head down and just to be ordinary. Then, it follows with extraordinary NFL athletes using Surface devices and ironically saying, "ordinary like me?"

The ad includes Pittsburgh's JuJu Smith-Schuster, Kansas City's Travis Kelce, Denver's Von Miller, and Oakland's Marshawn Lynch.

What you need to know

• New firmware and driver updates are available for the Surface Studio 2 and Surface Studio.
• The updates bring new GPU drivers, along with improvements for Surface Pen reliability and latency.
• The updates are rolling out now for both Surface Studio devices.

A fresh set of firmware and driver updates are available for the Surface Studio 2 and Surface Studio. Date September 17, the release notes for both updates were posted today on Microsoft's Surface Update History site, and they both bring new GPU drivers and improvements for Surface Pen reliability and latency.

Here's a look at what's new for the Surface Studio 2, from Microsoft:

• NVIDIA – Display – 26.21.14.3140
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 – Display adapters, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 – Display adapters
  • 26.21.14.3140 improves Pen latency, and improves device stability with updated NVIDIA driver support.

If you own the original Surface Studio, here's what you'll see with these updates, from Microsoft:

• NVIDIA – Display – 26.21.14.3140
  • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M – Display adapters, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M – Display adapters
  • 26.21.14.3140 improves Pen latency and reliability and improves device stability with updated NVIDIA driver support.
• Surface – Human Interface Device – 23.608.139.0
  • 23.608.139.0 improves Pen latency and reliability.

These updates are rolling out now. As is typical with Surface updates, these are being rolled out in stages, so you may not see them available right away. However, you cancheckWindows Update to see if they're available for your Surface Studio or Surface Studio 2 now.

Of all the new Surface products announced this week, the one that caught most everyone off guard was the Surface Headphones, an upcoming $350 set of headphones with Cortana integration, capacitive touch controls, and advanced noise cancellation. But as it turns out, Surface Headphones could be the first step in a bid to "[complete] the Surface experience," according to a new interview with Surface head Panos Panay.

Speaking with The Verge, Panay commented on the impetus behind creating the Surface Headphones, driving towards that idea of a complete Surface Experience. From Panay:

Further in the interview, Panay also hinted that Microsoft isn't done with exploring new ideas for this complete experience. Turning his attention to the Surface Hub 2, Panay hinted that we could eventually see a USB-C camera based on the Hub 2's high fidelity shooter.

Surface Hub 2 notably also features a modular design that allows users to upgrade its internals. And it turns out that is something Panay could see trickling down to the Surface Studio at some point – though that's far from a guarantee. When asked whether a modular design may be in the cards for Studio, Panay responded:

In any case, Microsoft is certainly focused on filling out its Surface lineup with a cohesive experience that encompasses more than just its PCs. The Surface Headphones and various mice and keyboards are just a part of that, but we could potentially see more surprising additions going forward.

For now, the latest Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptop 2, and Surface Studio 2 are all available for preorder, with prices starting at $899 for Pro 6 and moving north of $3,500 for Studio 2.

• See at Microsoft
• See at Best Buy

A new marketing image spotted by Walking Cat on Twitter has confirmed that the upcoming Microsoft hardware event will unveil refreshed Surface devices, including an updated Surface Pro and Surface Laptop in black, and a new Surface Studio.

For weeks, there have been rumors that Microsoft were planning minor refreshes of its Surface line up in October, and this marketing image all but confirms this. The devices look almost identical to the current ones on the market, with the only real differences expected to be upgraded internals.

Rumors also suggest that the new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro will come in a new black color; a call-back to the original Surface tablets that also shipped in black. It doesn't look like Microsoft is removing the grey options, only that black will be an additional color choice for customers to choose if they so wish. It doesn't look like the Surface Studio is black in the marketing image, however.

Microsoft is set to announce these new products, plus more, in just a few hours at a private event in New York. We understand that the event will not be livestreamed, meaning if you want to keep up with all the latest announcements as they happen, you'll have tune in to our live blog which we'll be running from the event itself.

Microsoft this week began shipping out another set of firmware updates for the Surface Studio, bringing along a variety of stability and reliability improvements across the board. One of the main highlights here is an improvement to the reliability of the Xbox Wireless Adapter, but the updates also improve the ink on hover threshold and resolve a couple of security issues.

Here's a look at all of what's new (via MSPU):

• Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows – Network adapters: 1.0.45.4 improves reliability of the Xbox Wireless Adapter.
• Surface Pen Firmware Update – System: 3.0.7.0 improves ink on hover threshold.
• Surface Pen Integration Device – Human Interface Devices: 1.0.9.0 improves ink on hover threshold.
• Surface UEFI – Firmware: 118.2311.770.0 resolves potential security vulnerabilities, including Microsoft Security Advisory 180012 and 180013.
• Surface ME – Firmware: 11.8.50.3448 improves system stability.
• Intel(R) Management Engine Interface – System: 11.7.0.1057 improves system stability.

According to Microsoft's update tracker, these fixes began rolling out on October 1. If you own a Surface Studio, you should be able to snag them now via Windows Update.

We've heard rumblings for some time that a second-generation Surface Studio is in the works, being developed under the code name "Capitola." And now, the device may have made its first public appearance (of sorts) via a Geekbench benchmark.

The Geekbench listing, spotted initially on Reddit (via Windows Latest), doesn't give us a ton of information about the device, but it does provide a look at the processor and RAM on board. According to the benchmark, the model tested is running on an Intel Core i7-7820HQ processor with 32GB of RAM. In terms of scores, the Surface Studio 2 managed to hit a single-core score of 4,680 while scoring 15,915 on the multi-core test.

The choice of processor is curious, as one would expect Microsoft to make the move to one of Intel's 8th Gen chips. Regardless, a step up to the i7-7820HQ would provide a small boost in clock speed over the original Surface Studio's Core i7-6820HQ option. However, it's worth keeping in mind that all benchmarks should be taken with a requisite grain of salt, particularly when they appear before a device is even announced.

In any case, we may get a look at what Microsoft is cooking up as early as next week. The company is holding a mysterious Surface event on October 2, where we're largely expecting to see modest updates to the Surface Laptop and Surface Pro. We're less certain that a second-generation Surface Studio is in the cards, but it remains a possibility.

• See at Amazon
• See at Microsoft

Microsoft today shipped out a new batch of firmware fixes for both the Surface Studio and Surface Pro. While Surface Pro users will see a single update focused on improving LTE stability, Surface Studio users are getting a major batch of fixes across the board. Here's a look at what's new.

Surface Pro

• Surface Mobile Broadband Update Device – Firmware: 18.07.20.1622 improves LTE stability when using e-SIM.

Surface Studio

• Marvell AVASTAR Bluetooth Radio Adapter – Bluetooth: 15.68.9125.57 improves system security.
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M and 980M – Display adapters: 24.21.13.9827 improves system stability.
• Surface UEFI – Firmware: 118.2311.769.0 Improves wake from sleep and speech recognition.
• Microsoft LifeCam Front – Imaging devices: 5.20.1034.2 improves system stability. Surface Display – Monitors: 1.0.25.0 improves system stability.
• Marvell AVASTAR Wireless-AC Network Controller – Network adapters: 15.68.9125.57 improves system security.
• Surface Pen Settings – Human Interface Devices: 23.607.139.0 improves Pen performance.
• NVIDIA High Definition Audio – Sound, video and game controllers: 1.3.37.4 improves system stability.
• Realtek High Definition Audio(SST) – Sound, video and game controllers: 6.0.1.8242 improves Cortana Wake on Voice feature.
• Realtek I2S Amp Device – Sound, video and game controllers: 10.0.10586.17 improves system stability.
• Detection Verification – System devices: 1.0.98.0 improves system stability and Cortana performance.
• Intel(R) Smart Sound Technology (Intel(R) SST) Audio Controller – System devices: 9.21.0.3347 improves system stability and Cortana performance.
• Intel(R) Smart Sound Technology (Intel(R) SST) OED – System devices: 9.21.0.3347 improves system stability and Cortana performance.
• Surface Integration – System devices: 1.0.456.0 improves system stability.

Both sets of updates are available to download now via Windows Update. For Surface Pro users, the update is available only to devices running the Windows 10 Creators Update or later. The Surface Studio updates are available for all versions.

If you're green with envy over the Surface Studio, but it's a bit out of your price range, Kensington's latest Surface Pro dock may strike a solid a middle-ground. Called the SD7000 Dual 4K Surface Pro Docking Station, the dock lets you slot your Surface Pro into a frame that closely resembles the much large Surface Studio, complete with articulating arms and plenty of expansion ports (via The Verge).

Once your Pro is placed in the dock, the arms allow you to change its position to be used simply as a display or for drafting and inking. Around back, the dock packs in a pair of USB ports, USB-C, HDMI, DisplayPort, and an ethernet port. The dock also supports powering up to two 4K external monitors, so you'll have plenty of space to spread your work out if you choose.

Alongside the dock, Kensington will also offer an optional locking module so your Surface Pro will stay secure when docked.

The dock itself will be available for $299.99, while the optional lock will run $29.99. There's no word on when the dock and its accompanying lock will be available, but Kensington is showing it off at Microsoft's Inspire 2018 partner conference this week.

See Surface Pro at Microsoft

Microsoft last week shipped a pair of updates to its Surface Studio and Surface Pro with LTE devices, and the company has now posted release notes of the changes in each. On the Surface Studio front, you're looking at improvements for Surface Pen functionality, while the Surface Pro with LTE has picked up an update focused on eSIM stability.

Here's a look at what's new with each:

Surface Studio

• Surface Touch – Firmware: 132.177.6.160 enables Surface Pen advanced feature support.
• Surface Pen Settings – Human Interface Device: 21.0.17.0 enables Surface Pen advanced feature support.
• Surface Pen Pairing – System devices: 1.7.136.0 enables Surface Pen advanced feature support.

Surface Pro LTE

• Gemalto eSIM Firmware Update – System devices: 2.8.2.1 improves eSIM service stability.

Both sets of updates started shipping out on June 28, so it's likely you've already received them if you regularly check for updates. However, you should be able to snag them now via Windows Update if you haven't installed them yet.

For the first time ever, Microsoft is selling its Surface Studio at its online store for a discounted price in the United Kingdom, with savings of up to £1000 on offer depending on the model you go for. Microsoft has never sold its Surface Studio for a discount before now, which means Microsoft is likely trying to shift the last of its stock to make room for the rumoured Surface Studio 2.

The entry-level Surface Studio is now available for £2,399, which is saving you a large sum of £600. If you want to go all out, you can save yourself up to £1,000 by going for the top-tier model, which is now on sale for £3,187. Still incredibly expensive, but definitely not as expensive as it used to be.

However, even at these prices you'd be crazy to buy one. The Surface Studio itself is an incredibly beautiful, but incredibly underpowered machine for £2399. The entry-level model only comes with an Intel Core i5 with 8GB RAM and a GTX 965M. These are laptop-class specifications in an all-in-one for a stupid amount of money.

It's not all bad, though. You're mostly paying for that gorgeous 4500 x 3000 resolution display and hinge that allows the Surface Studio to lay down for digital inking. If you're a huge Surface fan and must own a Surface all-in-one, now is the time to grab yourself the Surface Studio.

See at Microsoft

Microsoft this week shipped a new driver update for the Surface Studio, but it's a small one. The update contains a single fix that improves the reliability of the Xbox Wireless Adapter, which lets you connect a wireless controller to your PC (via Neowin).

Here's a look at the official release notes:

• Xbox – Network adapters – 1.0.45.4: Xbox Wireless Adapter for Windows – Network adapters – 1.0.45.4 improves reliability of the Xbox Wireless Adapter.

This is the first firmware update for the Surface Studio since January and, according to the Surface Update tracker, it began rolling out on May 4. If you own a Surface Studio, the update should be available now via Windows Update. Alternatively, you can manually download and install the Surface Pro drivers and firmware bundle from Microsoft.

Microsoft's original Surface Studio is a beautiful yet imperfect Windows 10 AIO. It's been over a year since the original Surface Studio was announced, so now it's time to start thinking about what might be next for Microsoft's unique AIO.

Factoring in all the issues the first Surface Studio had, here's my wish list for what I'm hoping Microsoft will address with the Surface Studio 2, which we're hearing could make an appearance at some point this year.

Surface Studio review

Better specs

An obvious wish for the Surface Studio 2 is a better selection of technical specifications. The original Surface Studio launched with specs that were ... questionable to say the least. It was rocking a laptop-class processor with a previous generation graphics card. For the price you paid for the baseline Surface Studio, the specs made that price even harder to swallow.

So, with the Surface Studio 2, I'm hoping Microsoft makes a beefy, all-out version for those who want to pay lots of money for the best hardware possible. With the latest processors and the latest graphics cards, for example. Microsoft could do a similar thing it did with the Surface Book 2: create a wide range of models ranging from mid-range performance to super high-end performance, and priced accordingly.

More affordable

On the subject of price, I'm hoping the baseline Surface Studio 2 is a little more affordable so more people can buy one. The original Surface Studio starts at $3,000, which is simply out of the question for many people. I know the Surface Studio is a niche product designed for a low-volume market, but it can't hurt making that market a little bit more approachable with a lower price.

Microsoft could make a base-line Surface Studio 2 with a smaller screen, and less powerful specifications that could rival the pricing of Apple's iMac series. For example, $1500 starting for an Intel Core i5 with 8GB RAM, 256GB solid-state drive (SSD) and a smaller, perhaps lower-resolution screen.

Thunderbolt 3

At the time of the original Surface Studio launch, the exclusion of a USB-C port was somewhat forgivable. But in 2018, a product launching without it will likely cause an uproar. I'm hoping with the Surface Studio 2, Microsoft bundles a couple of USB-C ports, sporting Thunderbolt 3 for that extra power.

This will not only allow for faster transfer speeds but the addition of using external GPUs. While I hope the offerings for internal graphics cards will be great, it can't hurt to allow users to hook up their own external GPUs.

SSD instead of HDD

The biggest gripe many had with the original Surface Studio was that it used a hybrid hard-disk drive (HDD). It had a small amount of SSD storage for the OS, but everything else was saved to a standard 5400rpm hard drive. That drive was incredibly slow, and it made the Surface Studio as feel slower than it should have.

With the Surface Studio 2, Microsoft should switch out its HDD offerings with SSD ones. While that may be slightly more expensive, SSDs aren't super expensive in 2018, especially on the low-capacity side. A model with a 256GB SSD should still be relatively doable without causing the product to skyrocket in price.

What are you hoping for?

That's our list of things we're hoping to see in the next Surface Studio, but we want to know what you want the most. Let us know in the comments.

See Surface Studio at Microsoft

Just after the recent Meltdown and Spectre processor vulnerabilities were disclosed last week, Microsoft revealed that it would issue a set of Surface firmware updates to mitigate against the attacks, in addition to its general emergency update for all Windows users. Those firmware updates are now ready and rolling out over Windows Update for a range of surface devices.

Dated January 10, the updates are now rolling out to the Surface Book 2, Surface Laptop, Surface Studio, Surface Book, and Surface Pro 4, according to the Surface Update History tracker. Each round of updates includes a firmware tweak to "resolve potential security vulnerabilities, including Microsoft security advisory 180002," which addresses the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities.

In addition to that particular security issue, the original Surface Book has received an extended range of firmware updates. Here's a look at what's included:

• Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 – Display adapters - 22.20.16.4811 improves Direct X 12 and power performance.
• Surface Management Engine – Firmware - 11.7.4.3330 improves reliability and resolves potential security vulnerabilities, including Microsoft security advisory 170012.
• Surface System Aggregator – Firmware - 90.1837.256.0 improves reliability and resolves potential security vulnerabilities, including Microsoft security advisory 170012.
• Surface dTPM (IFX) – Firmware - 5.62.3126.2 improves reliability and resolves potential security vulnerabilities, including Microsoft security advisory 170012.
• Surface UEFI – Firmware - 91.1926.768.0 improves reliability and resolves potential security vulnerabilities, including Microsoft security advisories 170012 & 180002.
• Intel(R) Display Audio – Sound, video and game controller - 10.22.1.102 improves audio stability.
• Intel(R) Management Engine Interface - System - 11.7.0.1040 improves system stability.

Microsoft's advisory stated that the Surface Pro 3, new Surface Pro, and Surface Pro with LTE Advanced would receive updates as well. They're not currently documented on the Surface Update History page, but they'll presumably be updated soon as well.

Microsoft has already issued an emergency update to Windows users in response to the Meltdown and Spectre exploits that were disclosed this week, but the company has now announced dedicated firmware updates for Surface devices as well.

The UEFI updates will be available for the following eight Surface models running the Windows 10 Creators Update or Fall Creators Update, according to Microsoft:

• Surface Pro 3
• Surface Pro 4
• Surface Book
• Surface Studio
• Surface Pro Model 1796
• Surface Laptop
• Surface Pro with LTE Advanced
• Surface Book 2

As for Surface Hub, Microsoft believes that the chances of these vulnerabilities working against it are "significantly reduced" because of its security features. The company says it will continue to monitor threats to Surface Hub and act accordingly, however.

As of this writing, it doesn't appear that the firmware updates are being distributed to everyone over Windows Update. We have, however, been able to secure what appears to be the update with a Surface Book 2 on the Release Preview Insider ring. Insiders in the Fast and Slow rings should be able to grab the update as well. Otherwise, we'd expect the updates to start rolling out for everyone in relatively short order.

For more on Meltdown and Spectre, check out our recent coverage of the disclosure, as well as the latest response from Intel.

With just a couple of week to go, 2017 is winding down, and sights are beginning to be set on the new year ahead. 2017 was an exciting year for Microsoft. With creators being at the forefront of Windows updates, Microsoft establishing itself in the laptop category with Surface Laptop, and desktop apps coming to the Microsoft Store on a much larger scale; It's been an incredibly busy year. But now it's time to look to the future and predict what 2018 will bring within the Microsoft realm.

Microsoft software

Let's start with Windows 10. I suspect that in 2018, Microsoft will focus a lot on being productive within Windows. We already know features like Timeline and Cloud Clipboard will help us be more productive across devices, and I suspect that trend will continue with features like Windows Sets. My first bold prediction is that Microsoft will call Redstone 4 the "Windows 10 Productivity Update" given the sudden focus on building features that keep us more productive.

On the surface, I anticipate Microsoft will continue to clean-up the UI in Windows 10 throughout 2018. Fluent Design is already well in-effect with the latest Redstone 4 Insider Preview builds, and that trend will only continue throughout 2018. In fact, with Redstone 5, I predict Microsoft will start taking some bolder risks with design; removing older, legacy features and behaviors in favor of a more minimalist approach to certain things.

For example, I wouldn't be surprised to see Microsoft redesign the System Tray, giving it a more minimal appearance and moving a lot of the excess stuff into a new Control Center area. This Control Center is something we've written about before, and according to our sources is now part of a much bigger effort. It'll include things like quick-actions, possibly tray icons, a volume slider, and even HomeHub functions that can be configured. I also suspect we'll see some big changes to the Start menu, including improved customization options.

I predict that in 2018 we'll finally see Microsoft separate Cortana from the dedicated search function in Windows 10. Many users dislike how Cortana is integrated with search, and in 2018 I suspect Microsoft will finally do something about this. Microsoft will move Cortana into the Action Center, with quick access to a chat-based Cortana UI directly from the newly designed System Tray, leaving the dedicated search bar for search only.

Speaking of Cortana, I suspect Microsoft will finally start focusing on the Windows-based AI assistant in 2018, building new smart-AI features and improvements, and possibly bringing it to new markets. It's been a while since Cortana received any significant updates, so we'll be well-overdue some kind of improvement in 2018.

Of course, an obvious one to expect in 2018 is a brand new version of Office, as Microsoft has already announced that Office 2019 will be available in the second half of next year. I suspect Office 2019 will bring an updated design, likely featuring Fluent Design elements and connected animations for a more beautiful user-experience. That's assuming Microsoft can get Fluent Design working within Win32 programs in time.

Existing Windows 10 Mobile handsets will continue to be left on the backburner, with even less support throughout 2018. We're already getting the cold shoulder from Microsoft officials when asked about future updates, and I don't expect this situation to improve in 2018. The platform will continue to fall further behind the rest of Windows 10, and eventually be left in the cold just like Windows RT.

Regarding Windows Core OS and CShell, I suspect both of these will be ready in some capacity in 2018. I don't expect to see it on Windows desktop, but I'm relatively confident Windows Core OS and CShell will be ready in 2018 for Microsoft's rumored foldable dual-screened device. The foldable device will likely be Microsoft's first product to ship with a version of Windows 10 built with Windows Core OS and rocking CShell.

Microsoft hardware

Speaking of Microsoft's foldable device, I continue to hear that this device is pegged for launch sometime in 2018. If so, I predict it'll be released in the second-half of 2018, likely towards the end of the year to give Microsoft as much time as possible to perfect the product before launch. The device will be portable, with two screens, pen support, and even telephony capabilities.

Also in 2018, I anticipate we'll see a refreshed Surface Studio with updated specifications, and maybe even a SKU that's a little more affordable as to make the product more accessible to a wider audience. To many, the original Surface Studio was just too expensive, so hopefully, Microsoft will create a version that's more affordable in 2018. Also, and this is an obvious one; Microsoft will adopt USB-C in some capacity on all future Surface products. We may also see a new, more powerful Surface Dock in 2018 too.

It's possible that we'll also see a new Surface Hub, running a brand new version of Windows 10, utilizing CShell and built with Windows Core OS. In fact, it may even have tie-ins with Microsoft's foldable device. Similarly, this project, like the foldable device, may find itself slipping in 2019, however. I don't expect we'll see any major updates to the Surface Pro, Surface Laptop or Surface Book in 2018, as those products were only just recently updated or announced. I also don't think we'll see any new non-pro Surface 4 device in 2018 either.

Many suspect we won't hear anything about Microsoft's next head mounted display until 2019, but Alex Kipman said back in October that head mounted displays that can do both virtual and augmented reality aren't too far into the future. Perhaps something along those lines will make an appearance in 2018?

Regarding Xbox, I've not heard of any new products on the horizon for 2018. I do know Microsoft is working on a new Xbox product codenamed Scarlett, but whether Microsoft is planning to release it next year is unknown. We also don't know much about the Scarlett project itself, so we're going to keep digging for information on that.

What do you predict?

That's our predictions for 2018, but we want to know what you're predicting will happen next year in the realm of Microsoft news! Let us know in the comments.

After recently shipping the first batch of firmware updates to its new Surface Pro with LTE, Microsoft is rolling out another set of updates for more Surface devices. Next on deck are updates for the Surface Pro 4, Surface Book, and Surface Studio. Here's a look at all of what's new for each device (via Neowin).

Surface Pro 4

• Intel(R) Precise Touch Device – Human Interface Devices - 2.0.99 improves multi-touch and pen connectivity when the device wakes from sleep.
• Surface Embedded Controller Firmware - Firmware - 103.1791.258.0 improves system reliability.
• Surface Management Engine - Firmware - 11.7.4.3330 resolves potential security vulnerability, including bulletin 170012.
• Surface System Aggregator Firmware – Firmware - 103.1837.257.0 resolves potential security vulnerability, including bulletin 170012.
• Surface UEFI – Firmware - 108.1866.769.0 resolves potential security vulnerability, including bulletin 170012.
• Surface dTPM (IFX) – Firmware - 5.62.3126.2 resolves potential security vulnerability, including bulletin 170012.
• Intel(R) Management Engine Interface – System device - 11.7.0.1040 required for UEFI update, and improves recovery from Connected Standby.
• Surface Integration – System devices - 1.0.171.1 improves system reliability.

Surface Book

• Intel(R) Precise Touch Device – Human Interface Devices - 2.0.99 improves multi-touch and pen connectivity when the device wakes from sleep.
• Intel(R) Smart Sound (SST) Audio Bus – System devices - 09.21.00.2853 improves video performance in some applications.
• Intel(R) Smart Sound Technology (SST) OED– System devices - 09.21.00.2853 improves video performance in some applications.
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX – Display adapter - 23.21.13.8808 improves device graphics performance.
• Realtek High Definition Audio(SST) - Sound, video, and GC - 6.0.1.8242 improves Cortana speech recognition.
• Surface NVM Express Controller – Storage Controllers - 11.0.0.1 improves storage performance.
• Surface DTX – System devices - 2.27.136.0 improves system stability.

Surface Studio

• Surface Management Engine - Firmware - 11.7.4.3330 resolves potential security vulnerability, including bulletin 170012.
• Surface UEFI – Firmware - 118.1866.770.0 resolves potential security vulnerability, including bulletin 170012.
• Surface dTPM (IFX) – Firmware - 5.62.3126.2 resolves potential security vulnerability, including bulletin 170012.
• Intel(R) Management Engine Interface – System device - 11.7.0.1040 required for UEFI update, and improves recovery from Connected Standby.

If you own any of the Surface devices mentioned, you should be able to grab these updates via Windows Update now.

Microsoft recently began rolling out a set of updates to the Surface Studio, bringing along official support for Windows Mixed Reality (WMR). Labeled as compatibility and performance updates, the firmware updates add dedicated WMR feature support to the Surface Studio's graphics driver, Bluetooth radio adapter, and network controller.

Here's a full look at what's new:

• Marvell AVASTAR Bluetooth Radio Adapter - Bluetooth - 15.68.9120.47 required to support Windows Mixed Reality features.
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX driver - Display adapters - 21.21.13.8795 required to support Windows Mixed Reality features.
• Marvell AVASTAR Wireless-AC Network Controller – Network adapters - 15.68.9120.47 required to support Windows Mixed Reality features.

These updates, which follow similar WMR updates for other Surface devices, should be available now via Windows Update. Keep in mind that you'll need to be running the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update to begin experimenting with a Windows Mixed Reality headset.

While the focus is rightly on the technology itself when Microsoft reveals a new entry in its Surface lineup, the company has caught some attention for its music choices as well. Recent Surface ads and introduction videos have included haunting covers of classic songs, performed by artist Stephanie Tarling, and now you can listen to them on Spotify.

Three of Tarling's tracks are available to stream, including her cover of "Fly Me to the Moon" from the Surface Book 2 announcement, "Pure Imagination" from the Surface Studio reveal, and "You're the One I Want" from the Surface Laptop ad. Each is a slower, more haunting version of the original, giving them a somewhat creepy vibe.

See at Spotify

I use a Surface Pro every day, and though I'm a big fan of it in general, it can be … quirky at times. Every week or so, if I don't remember to restart it on my own, for example, my Surface Pro will randomly freeze up, usually after it's been asleep for a while and I wake it and try to get right down to business. (This frequent freeze rate was apparently one reason why tech reviews site Consumer Reports recently blasted the entire Surface line, though those ratings didn't apply to the latest generation of Surfaces.)

Why you should question Consumer Reports' Microsoft Surface reliability claims

If you're using a new Surface Pro, Surface Laptop or Surface Studio, there is a quick-and-easy fix for the Surface-freeze problem. (If you use an older Surface model, you can find more information on how to fix your frozen PC on Microsoft's website

How to force your frozen Surface to shut down

If your Surface Pro, Laptop or Studio is unresponsive, follow this process to shut it down and then restart it:

1. Press and hold the power button until the display turns off. This will take roughly 10 seconds, but on rare occasion it may take longer.
2. Let go off the power button and wait several seconds.
3. Press the power button again to turn the Surface back on. The Windows logo should appear on the screen.

That's it. This process may seem obvious or intuitive, and in fact it is … once you know how to do it. But if you're a new Surface owner dealing with freeze-ups for the first time, it can be absolutely maddening if you don't know how to fix the problem.

In the rare case that this does not force your Surface to shut down, simply hold the power button for as long as it takes for the device to restart on its own. On a few occasions, I had to hold the power button for as long as 30 seconds, but eventually my Surface Pro restarted.

After you've fixed the freeze-up issue, it's also a good idea to check for software updates and install them immediately, because delayed updates could be contributing to the cause of your problem. Just search "check for updates" in your taskbar search, and then click the "Check for updates" box in the Windows Update window that appears.

Microsoft's new $99 Surface Pen is a steep upgrade from the previous iteration that costs $59 (and which is still available. There are quite a few enhancements that may justify the cost for new Surface Pro owners. But for older Surface devices, the value is not too clear.

Here is what owners of previous Surface devices should expect with the all-new Surface Pen.

What's new?

The new Surface Pen brings significant changes. Here are the key features being advertised or that we noticed.

1. Pressure levels

The new Pen has 4,096 pressure levels, up from 1,024 levels of the previous Pen. The new Surface Pen is simply more sensitive than the last one. While there can be a debate about how significant this advance is, artists and professional inkers prefer more sensitive pens. Higher levels of pressure allow for greater shading or increased detail when drawing. In fact, Wacom's new Intuos Pro Paper Edition tablet features 8,192 levels of pressure – but that device is not a PC, and there is such thing as diminishing returns. For note takers, higher pressure levels make the stylus feel more natural.

2. Decreased latency

Latency is the time between when the pen tip hits the display, and digital ink begins to flow. If you draw or write quickly, you will see a visible gap between the pen tip and the digital ink, almost like the ink is trying to catch up to the pen. Real pens have zero latency, which is why they feel natural. The entire digital inking market has been trying to reduce latency to simulate real pens accurately. The new Surface Pen drops latency down to just 21 milliseconds from the previous 40 milliseconds. That is a significant decrease when you consider the display refresh, OS, and apps by default cause 16 milliseconds of latency.

3. Tilt support

If you took a real pencil and turned the tip on its side you could use it to "shade." That fanning of the graphite creates a different experience than just writing with the tip. Digital pens should do this. too, but simulating it on a PC is not easy – after all, it's just plastic on glass and the computer does not "know" the difference. The new Surface Pen supports this feature, as well, thanks to advanced hardware.

4. Lower initial activation force

Initial activation force (IAF) refers to the amount of pressure needed for a pen to trigger an inking event on the PC – the lower, the better. A similar real-world analogy is how a Sharpie marker can lightly brush against an object and leave a mark versus a pencil. With the new Surface Pen, the IAF is down to around nine grams, making it more sensitive than the last version.

Besides the big technical changes with the new Surface Pen, there are subtle physical changes as well. There is no longer a shirt clip, for example, which some people won't like. The single button is also now visually and physically distinct from the magnetic strip. The LED pairing light is also now green instead of white, so there's that (detalil is detail!).

Otherwise, the new and old Surface Pens look similar, weigh the same, and take the same single AAAA battery, that should last the same amount of time.

What can the new Surface Pen do on older Surface PCs?

Unfortunately, not all legacy Surfaces get all of these improvements. Here is what Microsoft told me when I asked about the new Pen and older Surfaces:

• Devices that (eventually will) support new Surface Pen enhancements: Surface 3, Surface Pro 3, Surface Pro 4, Surface Book, Surface Laptop, and Surface Studio.
• Pressure levels: All the devices mentioned above will see improvements "up to" 4,096 levels.
• IAF: All devices mentioned above will see "fine-tuning" of IAF.
• Improved latency: All devices mentioned above will see improved latency.

While these advances are coming, they are not here today – at least not completely. In my usage of the new Surface Pen on the Surface Studio and Surface Pro 4, I noticed an overall increased sensitivity and reduced IAF – there is just less effort needed to use the Surface Pen. That experience is like the new Wacom Bamboo Ink pen, which is a cheaper alternative to the Surface Pen.

However, I did not see any appreciable improvement in latency on the Surface Studio. That is very likely because the Surface Studio – like other Surface devices – still needs a firmware update to optimize the drivers.

Seeing as Surface Studio and the new Surface Pro share the same upgraded Pixelsense accelerator chip, I expect parity between those two devices at some point for all of these features.

Tilt support and shading is a different story. We may only see a few of the newer Surfaces get tilt support with the Surface Pen "later this year" through a software update. Tilt support is already enabled on the new Surface Pro, but it is not yet clear which older Surface devices will also join the tilt club.

Why all the confusion?

Microsoft has at times been vague about the details of the new Surface Pen, and the feature set is apparently spread out across devices. My educated hunch is that Microsoft is going to push a driver update for the new Surface Pen in the next few months, but because it is still being worked on the company does not want to commit to specifics. They know this new Pen can do more, but just how much more on older hardware is currently fuzzy.

"Improved latency" is great, but the new Surface Pro and Surface Studio have a new Pixelsense accelerator that lets them achieve 21-millisecond latency. Improved latency on older hardware likely means between 40 milliseconds for Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book and 21 milliseconds.

The same rationale applies for IAF, which will be "fine-tuned," and the levels of pressure, which may increase "up to" 4,096. These are improvements, but it remains to be seen just how much so. So you shouldn't think the new Surface Pen is as good on older Surfaces as the new Surface Pro 2017.

Bottom line: Wait ... for now

If you are on an older Surface, getting the new Surface Pen is a mixed bag for now, and it's best to wait. (The Surface Pro 1 and Pro 2 used completely different pen tech, so they won't see any such improvements.)

The best days of the new Surface Pen are still ahead. When Microsoft releases its new Pen driver and firmware, you will see even more improvements enabled on older Surface hardware. That does not mean the $99 is still worth it, but that is a personal decision you will need to make.

See at Microsoft Store

If you've been holding on tight in anticipation for a Surface Studio release outside of the U.S., you're now in luck. Microsoft announced today that Surface Studio is now available in 13 new markets, allowing even more people around the globe to get their hands on the impressive — and pricey — piece of hardware.

Starting today, you can pick up a Surface Studio in the following markets:

• Austria
• China
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Hong Kong
• Japan
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• UK

Given Surface Studio made its debut and subsequent launch in late 2016, it's a good sign to see it making its way to other markets around the world. The release also comes alongside the launch of the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop in 25 markets around the world. You could say it's kind of a big day for Surface fans.

See at Micorosft

On May 2, 2017, Microsoft introduced a new addition to its family of first-party hardware, the Surface Laptop. Unlike the Surface Pro, Book and Studio, the Surface Laptop does not create a new category, however.

How Surface changed Microsoft forever

It doesn't have a removable display like the Pro or Book, nor can the screen be positioned at a 20-degree angle for a drafting-table effect like the Studio. It's just a laptop. A premium laptop, yes, but a laptop nonetheless. Microsoft's Devices Chief Panos Panay asserted during its introduction, however, that this laptop redefines the category.

He claimed his team built the optimal combination of design, feature set, battery life and more, making the Surface Laptop the most balanced laptop on the market. It is this premium laptop that Microsoft is pitting against the preferred laptops among college students, Apple's MacBook Pro and MacBook Air.

Surface Laptop vs. MacBook: It isn't all about specs

Microsoft's challenge will be communicating the passion that went into creating the Surface Laptop. Panay's team of engineers who poured their passion into crafting every detail of the Surface Laptop is not the team that will market it to consumers, however. Microsoft's marketing team has the daunting responsibility of persuading Apple-loving college students to buy a laptop from a company their uncool parents, perhaps, grew up loving.

Undoing and replacing the student-MacBook relationship, with a student-Surface Laptop relationship, will require a long campaign and tremendous resources.

It will (or should), therefore, span many quarters and must integrate the passion, not just the specs, the Surface team put into the product.

Panay's passion

No one knows a product better than its creator. When that creator can also verbally express the merits and features of that product with the same passion that went into making it, an audience feels it. During his introduction of the Surface Laptop, Panay did just that and explained how his passion began with lessons he learned from his father, as seen starting at the 1:02:10 in the video below:

We see the fruit of these lessons in Panay's persistence and attention to detail that brought Surface from a billion dollar loss to an industry-inspiring, category-creating, billion dollar business.

Panay added that his team puts its heart and soul into every single detail, from the tiniest hinge to the creation of a product category to every small bit being aligned with a pixel on the screen.

He also said, "It's not all the details and parts that make these devices great, but it's all the passion that the people making these products put into them. It's that same passion that we want you to feel when you're using our products."

Is Microsoft's marketing team 'feeling' Panos?

Will Microsoft's marketing team put "Panay-level" passion into persuading students to use the Surface Laptop over a MacBook? It'll have to if consumers are to "feel" the passion that went into making the product.

Sadly, Microsoft's commitment to products and its marketing efforts have been inconsistent at best. Xbox and Bing received continued support even in extremely competitive spaces. Conversely, the Kin which was dropped after 48 days, Zune which was dumped after five years, and Windows phones, which lacked the comprehensive support of consistent, aggressive marketing and efforts to ensure broad distribution, have all been allowed to flounder.

Thankfully, Microsoft's Surface devices have risen to represent the company in the way Windows as an OS and Office for productivity have for years. Consequently, Surface receives more consistent marketing support from Microsoft than some less esteemed products. The Surface Laptop, therefore, should get the necessary support from Microsoft.

Microsoft must convey emotion in Surface Laptop marketing

Convincing 17-year-old to 20-year-old college students to give up "cool" MacBooks for laptops from a company whose efforts have focused primarily on the enterprise is a lofty goal for Microsoft.

As with many successful products, there's both an emotional and social aspect that contributes to MacBook's success, beyond its specs and capabilities. For college students, MacBooks are the socially endorsed laptop. As an Apple product, it benefits from the intangible value that makes virtually anything Apple brings to market a media sensation and the bar to which the rest of the industry is compared. Like it or not this is the reality Microsoft is up against.

Marketing that doesn't connect emotionally with the intended audience and that focuses only on the very balanced and competitive specs of the Surface Laptop will likely fail. Panay's passion-laden presentation of the Surface Laptop is the combination of emotion and information I believe Microsoft's marketing message will need.

This war won't be won in a day

As with any "war," Microsoft won't win college students with just one commercial during one fiscal quarter. It must be committed to what may amount to years of "battles" as it attempts to wrest from Apple what Apple is determined to retain.

For instance, Apple introduced updated specs for the MacBook and MacBook Air at WWDC 2017. Those updated specs already alter Microsoft's recent claim that Surface Laptop is 50 percent faster than MacBook and MacBook Air.

Given the swiftly evolving tech industry, a spec race cannot be Microsoft's marketing focus. The Surface Laptop is a challenger to Apple's beloved incumbent. Understanding that it's just the first of many iterations, Microsoft's marketing must have the stamina to strive over time to build an emotional connection with students by conveying the passion that went into the product.

The challenge of Windows 10 S

Added to introducing a new product, communicating its specs, and passionately building an emotional connection with students, Microsoft has the challenge of explaining Windows 10 S.

The Surface Laptop runs the newest version of Windows which is more secure but runs only Windows Store apps. Classic Win32 programs like Chrome won't run on this device without a $50 (temporarily free) upgrade to Windows 10 Pro.

Microsoft must manage consumer expectation of Windows 10 S

The potential for angering unaware consumers who take a chance on the Surface Laptop is real. Microsoft must be proactive and comprehensive in its messaging to avoid alienating members of the very market it's trying to win.

Is Microsoft up to the challenge?

Will the marketing message do the product and the Surface team's efforts justice?

Some enthusiasts argue that Panay should market products. That's a longshot, but perhaps snippets of his presentation could be incorporated in some of the Surface Laptop television ads. "Normal consumers" would then feel what we techies feel when we hear the Surface's creator talk about the product. That's one way to ensure the passion that has gone into the product is integrated into the marketing.

Whatever Microsoft does, it must be persistent, creative, passionate and above all, ready. Apple's marketing prowess is unmatched. Rest assured that the marketing juggernaut won't sit idly by as Microsoft makes a play for MacBook-using college students.

The war is on.

Also Read:

With Windows 10 S and Surface Laptop, Microsoft takes aim at Apple and Google

If you've been waiting for the Surface Studio to become available outside of the United States, we have some good news. At an event in China today, Microsoft announced that it will be making the Surface Studio available in 13 new markets very soon, widening the availability of the hardware and allowing for even more people to grab one.

The Surface Studio was unveiled and released in late 2016, so it's great to finally see the hardware make its way to new markets. Up until now, the Surface Studio had only been available in limited quantities in limited markets, making it very difficult for anyone outside of those markets to buy one. Now, however, with the Surface Studio arriving in 13 new markets, it should be much more widely available.

New Surface Studio availability

Surface Studio is now up for preorder in the following markets:

• Austria.
• China.
• Denmark.
• Finland.
• France.
• Germany.
• Hong Kong.
• Japan.
• Netherlands.
• Norway.
• Sweden.
• Switzerland.
• U.K.

Microsoft says the Surface Studio is a new class of device that's designed to transform from a workstation into a digital canvas for creating. It also rocks the thinnest LCD display ever built for a PC, with an incredibly high-quality screen that's like no other on an all-in-one computer.

The Surface Studio is available for preorder in those new markets starting today and will go on sale on June 15, alongside the new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop. June 15 will be a big day for Surface fans it seems, if you're planning to buy all three new Surface's, you're going to be in for a joyous day of unboxing new hardware!

Order or preorder the Surface Studio

One of the world's most popular music and mixing software is making a momentous jump from iOS, macOS, and Android to Windows 10. Made by Algoriddim djay Pro is now a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app that can be downloaded through the Windows Store to millions of new users.

Even more exciting is that djay Pro takes full advantage of Surface Studio, Surface devices, and the Surface Dial to be used for the ultimate DJ music experience. Windows 10 users on any PC – even without a touchscreen – can also use the software as well.

The software was converted to UWP using the Project Islandwood bridge tools that enable developers to convert code from iOS to Windows 10. Working closely with Microsoft the Algoriddim engineers then added abilities for Surface Dial and touch. Perhaps even more exciting is that the Surface Dial and djay Pro for the first use zone-controls where the Surface Dial behaves differently depending on where it is placed on the Surface Studio's display.

djay Pro is a hallmark app for iOS for a decade winning numerous design awards and being featured on stage twice by Apple. Recently, the app was used to showcase the MacBook Pro's new Touch Bar.

The djay Pro software integrates Spotify directly into it allowing creators to stream music at 320kbps for instant mixes. Spotify integration provides curated playlists based on mood, genre, and popularity. By using Match artists can pair songs based on what is currently playing. Also, each djay Pro app gets a free 30-day trial of Spotify Premium, or users can just log in with their existing Spotify account.

The software supports "over 60 MIDI controllers out of the box by manufacturers such as Pioneer DJ, Numark, Reloop, and others" and even an "advanced MIDI Learn system" for a custom setup.

From the press release Adam Denning, Partner Group Program Manager at Microsoft commented about the launch:

Seeing is believing

A few weeks ago, we were privileged to meet some of the crew behind djay Pro and to see a live demonstration of the software. The app is a gorgeous mix of sliders, dials, and faux records that can be spun. With Spotify, we were able to pick music types and then watch the software continue to pick similar music based on "danceability, BPM, key" and "music style."

Using the Surface Dial, the software can scratch like a record or control the deck slider to fade between the two spinning tracks. Placing the Surface Dial on the display changed the Dial's behavior, which is a first for the technology.

What was exciting was seeing how thrilled the Algoriddim devs were about the project. For them, Surface Studio is the ultimate culmination of what they have been working on for a decade. The Surface Studio with its giant 28-inch high-resolution touch display and the unique hinge allows djay Pro to truly be a virtual mixing station.

Not just for pros

For those who are not musically inclined or find the live mixing of music too complicated Algoriddim offers free tutorials and guides to get started. You could also just use djay Pro as one giant self-directed party station by setting the mixing to auto. Simply pick a few tunes and let the software do it for you.

Get it now

Algoriddim's djay Pro may be the first "killer app" for Surface Studio. It's also the first non-drawing app to really shine on the creator PC, and when you see the software in action on the machine, it just makes sense. The devs behind Algoriddim were set to release the software earlier but once seeing Surface Studio their eyes lit up.

Of course, any Windows 10 PC running the Creators Update can use the software too.

Regarding Windows 10 Mobile Algoriddim has not ruled it out either. Due to the immense complexity of the software, which relies heavily on precise audio timing and processing the initial focus was to get the software optimized for modern PCs.

Because the app is based on code from iOS, it also means the UWP version for Windows 10 will see seamless updates between both platforms. Algoriddim were ecstatic over the idea that they did not have to natively build the app saving time and costs for the company.

The app can be purchased for $49.95 from the Windows Store below. Users can learn more about djay Pro for Windows 10 on the Algoriddim website.

Download djay Pro from the Windows Store

Alongside a firm date for the Windows 10 Creator's Update release today, Microsoft has some good news for Surface fans around the world. In particular, Surface Book with Performance Base is coming to 13 new markets, while Surface Studio and Surface Dial will be headed to 3 new countries.

Starting today, the Surface Book with Performance Base is up for pre-order in the following markets ahead of an April 20 launch:

• Austria
• China
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Hong Kong
• Japan
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• UK

As for the Surface Studio, it's now up for pre-order in Australia, Canada and New Zealand with the same April 20 release date.

Finally, with the release date for the Creators Update in sight, Microsoft has some updates on what it will bring to its biggest member of the Surface family, Surface Hub:

Microsoft promises we'll hear more about what the Creators Update has in store for Surface Hub before it starts rolling out on April 11.

See at Microsoft

Decreased popularity notwithstanding, there's no arguing that Apple has made many technologies introduced by other companies into commercial successes. For instance, Microsoft beat Apple to market with a smartphone platform, but Apple beat Microsoft's mobile efforts to a pulp with the success of the iPhone. Early Windows tablets preceded Apple's 2010 iPad to market by years. However, Apple more than made up for its late entry, as the iPad defined the tablet computer for both consumers and businesses, and year after year outsold most other tablet manufacturers.

In 2017 the iPad is still successful but declining share and consumers' choices of alternative devices indicate that its influence is not what it used to be. A barrage of recently-released iPad ads ahead of the tablets spring refresh suggests that Cupertino recognizes the threat its competition poses. Apple is, therefore, trying to position the iPad as a superior choice to Microsoft's evolving vision for mobility and the PC.

Unlike the Mac-versus-PC ads of years past, however, this attempt by Apple may not be as impactful as the company hopes.

You see, Microsoft is cool now. Windows 10 has an appealing set of evolving features such as Paint 3D, Windows Holographic and Xbox game streaming.

Furthermore, the Surface Studio with the Creators Update (seen in the video above) appeals to Apple's previous target audience: creatives. And Surface inspired 2-in-1s from partners including HP, Lenovo, Dell and Samsung are simply amazing devices that are saturating the market.

Is the iPad untouchable?

Even the blockbuster success of Cupertino's hallowed hardware can't remain untouched by the progress of technology and consumer behavior. As the smartphone got bigger and more powerful, consumers began moving activity previously relegated to their tablets over to their increasingly capable and always connected smartphones, or "phablets." The iPad started taking a hit. Even Apple's own iPhone Plus is guilty of cannibalizing iPad sales.

Competition and innovation offered another blow to Apple's tablet. The sleeping giant that was Microsoft seems to have shaken off the dust and some of the lethargy that has kept it a step behind others in recent years. After two failed attempts, the Surface Pro 3 finally changed the game for Microsoft as well as the concept of a tablet for the industry. Today's 2-in-1s have been embraced by Microsoft partners, and more importantly consumers, and have therefore been emulated by its rivals.

Apple execs who previously scoffed at the idea of a tablet that is also a laptop have not only embraced the idea but have introduced their take on it as if it's an original thought. But that's what Apple (and honestly most companies) does. Apple's success in smartphones and initial success in tablets was the result of its consistently applied strategy of taking what others have pioneered, refining it, marketing it to the max, and thereby winning mindshare and the market.

With the evolution of the tablet toward 2-in-1s and greater productivity, thanks to Microsoft, Apple has seen the need to recast the iPad's image away from a strictly slate-shaped consumption device to a productivity device where a keyboard, an eraser-less pencil and Microsoft services such as Office are increasingly important.

Let's take a look at the defensive positioning of the iPad as Apple executes a proactive, ad-driven offensive against Windows 10 2-in-1s and the ARM-based cellular PCs coming later this year.

No PC viruses on iPad, but other dangers may lurk

This first ad highlights the fact that the iPad, which is not a PC, does not get PC viruses. The claim states the obvious but is also somewhat misleading. The spirit of the message is that the iPad Pro is safe from external threats such as malicious code. Given the sandboxed nature of iOS, the system is admittedly very secure, but history reveals that even its walled garden is prone to unwanted weeds.

In 2015 300 apps were purged from the App Store due to an infection that allowed hackers to send fake alerts and steal passwords. Though iOS is relatively secure this was not the only compromise the platform suffered during the years. No, iOS does not get PC viruses, but consumers should still be wary of potential threats that may compromise their systems.

Furthermore, consumers should be aware of Microsoft's current strategy to make Windows even more secure. Redmond's Universal Windows Platform (UWP) strategy allows developers to convert existing x86 Win32 programs to full UWP Store apps via project Centennial. Developers are also encouraged to convert iOS and web apps to Store apps via the other app Bridges and to bring new apps directly to the UWP. Like iOS apps, Store apps are inherently more secure and sandboxed against malicious code.

Finally, Windows 10 Cloud, a version of Windows which will likely be found on many tablets and 2-in-1s, will allow users to permit only the more secure Store apps, excluding Win32 apps (unless converted to UWP via Project Centennial) from the OS.

Better than a computer? Really?

In the new iPad ad, the narrator responds that the iPad Pro isn't a computer when the consumer claims that the iPad isn't even close to being a computer. The narrator proceeds to claim that the iPad Pro is better than a computer. These are odd assertions given that just six months ago, in August 2016, Apple released the following ad claiming the iPad Pro is indeed a computer:

The narrator states:

Clearly, Apple has pivoted regarding its iPad Pro computer claims. Frankly, in response to the question, the ad's narrator leaves us with, the "it's-a-computer" claims are easily challenged, as seen in this rebuttal from Microsoft:

Apple's original "it's-a-computer" messaging left too much room for comparisons to actual computers where the iPad ultimately fell short. For instance, the iPad Pro does not have micro-SD expansion slots or USB ports. These are two basic features consumers are accustomed to having as part of their computers.

Surface did it first, and Surface does it better

Furthermore, though iOS now has split screen capabilities, the extent to which one can use multiple Windows simultaneously as one can on a Windows computer cannot be facilitated on an iPad Pro. Additionally, this tablet-that-used-to-be-called-a-computer doesn't even support a mouse or trackpad.

Moreover, the 2016 iPad Pro ad touting a keyboard that gets out of the way and a screen that can be touched and written on, debuted in the wake of the successful fourth-generation Surface, a four-year-old line of Microsoft 2-in-1s Apple is clearly emulating. The Surface, which introduced all of those features four years earlier, actually succeeded in inspiring a market deluge of 2-in-1s. Apple clearly wants the iPad to benefit from the success of this Microsoft-inspired category.

Finally, though Apple bragged about the ability to write on the iPad's screen, inking is a deeply integrated feature of Windows 10. Users can write on sticky notes and an assortment of other apps and workspaces, and even on web pages. Unlike the $99 Apple Pencil, the Surface Pen has an eraser and (valued at $59) is included with the Surface.

Don't hunt for Wi-Fi, cellular PCs cometh

The above ad highlights the iPad Pro's very convenient, always connected LTE feature (on the higher priced model). Though infrequently implemented, integrated LTE connectivity is not without precedence in Windows PCs and tablets (though attaching high-speed peripherals is also an option). That's about to change. Microsoft recently announced that full Windows 10 is coming to ARM-based Qualcomm processors. This innovation sets the stage for always-connected, lightweight, power-efficient cellular PCs in the form of laptops, tablets and 2-in-1s.

Its manufacturing partners will begin bringing these devices to market later this year. Consumers will be able to purchase cellular data for these devices directly from the Microsoft Store.

Apple, which is certainly aware of this potential market deluge of cellular PCs, saw a need to highlight the LTE connectivity in the higher-end iPad Pro. You can't blame the company. Cellular PCs are a threat to the iPad Pro. Windows Chief Terry Myerson elaborates in the video below:

Cellular PCs will have the full power and versatility of Windows 10 PCs. Microsoft demonstrated Windows on ARM's ability to support intensive processes such as gaming, full Office and Photoshop. Moreover, Qualcomm's Executive Vice President Christiano Armon foresees high-performance and high-efficiency, all-day computing with these new devices. Rich multimedia, GB-level LTE 5G speeds, and best-in-class Wi-Fi are also expected on these highly portable, fanless devices per Armon.

When he addressed the manufacturers at WinHEC 2016 Armon advised them that the ecosystems they've established in smartphones could be leveraged to benefit cellular PC investments. He further expressed that Qualcomm's and Microsoft's cellular PC goals are to redefine computing devices. Given that statement, it will be interesting to see if these partnerships eventually lead to telephony-enabled ultramobile PCs.

If not, consumers looking for an always connected productivity tablet should still be aware that the full power and versatility of Windows PCs will be arriving on lightweight, power-efficient ARM-based devices later this year.

They needn't settle for the tablet-that-used-to-be-called-a-computer. But if they want to, Microsoft has a presence on iOS.

Do more with Word

The above ad highlights the fact that Word and Microsoft Office are the industry's standards for productivity. The consumer in this ad, like most consumers, wants Microsoft Office regardless of the platform they use. Apple conceded this point by not highlighting its iWorks productivity suite in the ad nor during the introduction of the iPad Pro on stage in 2015.

Corporate Vice President for Microsoft Office Kirk Koenigsbaur was actually called on stage at that Apple event to demonstrate Office on the iPad, as seen in the video below:

Of course, Windows PCs have both the Mobile versions of Office, as well as the full-feature version. Moreover, just as with the iPad version, users can draw on Word on a PC. In line with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella's "best on Windows" vision, Microsoft's Devices Chief Panos Panay said, in relation to the Surface Pro 4, "There's no product on the planet that runs Office and OneNote as well as this product."

In a long-awaited step to "modernizing" its Office Suite, Microsoft is expected to convert the Office Suite to Store apps this year. This will bring with it the benefits inherent to Universal Windows apps.

Speaking of apps, I would be disingenuous if I didn't mention the advantage the iPad has in this area.

Tim Cook stated, "The iPad is the clearest expression of our vision for the future of personal computing. A simple multi-touch piece of glass that instantly transforms into virtually anything that you want it to be." That's a great vision, and the App Store has the apps to support it. The Windows Store has about 600,000 touch-friendly apps. The App Store has more than twice that number.

Still, per Microsoft's Panay, UWP has the critical support from developers of apps such as Lightroom, Photoshop, Illustrator, DrawBoard, Bitwig and StaffPad (among others), as he expounds on in the video below:

Microsoft Surface, 2-in-1s have iPad on the defensive

It's clear from Apple's new ads that the company is marketing the device-that-used-to-market-itself, from a defensive position. This uncharacteristic approach contrasts Cupertino's more recent campaigns that focus on what an Apple product is or does rather than taking subtle digs at the competition through thinly-veiled comparisons.

If Apple were pitting itself against the old stodgy Microsoft, these ads might have a greater impact.

But this is the Microsoft that puts the power to create and manipulate 3D objects in the hands of children and adults.

This is the Microsoft that is leading the industry in mixed reality with its Windows Holographic platform and HoloLens.

This is the Microsoft that brought streaming Xbox gaming to PCs and VR.

This is no longer the Microsoft of boring, beige desktop PCs. This is the Microsoft that gave the world the category-defining Surface, Surface Book and Surface Studio. The Surface Book video below still gets me. It's just so cool.

Maybe Apple would have been better served not to take digs at Microsoft and Windows PCs in its new iPad ads. Everybody knows (or should know) it's not a good idea to pick a fight with the cool kid.

Follow the story

• How Surface changed Microsoft forever
• Apple may be building augmented reality glasses; Should Microsoft worry?
• What HoloLens means for the future of personal computing
• A HoloLens for everyone, Microsoft is democratizing HoloLens
• Getting in touch with creators; How Microsoft is courting Apple's creators
• Microsoft's reimagining of the PC for creators heralds a new generation of computer
• How Windows 2-in-1s are setting the stage for the Surface Phone
• Why Apple TV is a threat to Xbox living room position
• Windows Mobile and the enterprise Part IV: A phone in the hand or one that is planned?
• Can we still expect "best on Windows" Microsoft experience?
• AI, bots and canvases Part IV: The war is on! Microsoft is not alone
• Microsoft and the duo user Part III: Windows 10 is for everything you do
• Smartphones are dead Part I: This is the age of the mini-tablet
• Smartphones are dead Part III: Microsoft, Apple and Google are preparing for the shift
• Microsoft's aggressive push to rule personal computing: Windows 10
• Microsoft's aggressive push to rule personal computing: Cross-platform clouds and alternate realities

No matter which way you cut it the Surface Studio is an expensive investment. Starting at $3,000, the all-in-one PC with a stunning display is something worth pondering if you're in the market for one.

If you are sold on the Surface Studio, your next decision comes down to the which one to get. While there are three options, two configurations exist for the GPU: NVIDIA GTX 965m or NVIDIA GTX 980M. Today, I'll try to answer the question of which one is right for you by directly comparing the two Studios' performance.

A tale of performance

Dedicated graphics on any PC is always preferred versus the default Intel HD graphics that power most Ultrabooks. The problems with a dedicated GPU are many for manufacturers. There are price considerations, thermal restraints (TPU qualifications), size and overall design limitations.

Full review of the Surface Studio

The issue for the Surface Studio is the display. It's a 28-inch monster with 4500x3000 resolution that is closer to 5K than to 4K. Pushing that many pixels with Intel HD Graphics is possible, but having a more powerful GPU in there to help prevent stutters and improve performance is preferred.

Microsoft uses somewhat odd GPUs for the Surface Studio. In two models, there is the NVIDIA GTX 965m, which is the same GPU found in the Surface Book with Performance Base. However, only in the top-tier, $4,200 version do you get the NVIDIA GTX 980m. Not only is the 980m clocked higher at 1,038 MHz (versus 924 MHz in the 965m) but you get double the video memory at 4GB versus just 2GB in the 965m.

Full review of the Surface Book with Performance Base

The reason these video card choices are "odd" is that they were designed to be mobile GPUs for laptops. Microsoft has good reason for that choice versus larger, more TPU-intensive GPUs such as NVIDIA's new Pascal 10 series. The development period of Surface Studio, which was reportedly three years, did not leave enough time to quickly redesign all of the innards in the all-in-one in just a few months for those new cards. Microsoft painstakingly made the overall hardware design choice of the Studio and kept things conservative for the actual PC part. The display and hinge, however, are where you find all the real magic (and cost).

Nonetheless, the GTX 965m and GTX 980m, along with their clock speeds and memory configurations, are not very helpful. Sure, the GTX 980m is better but what is the actual difference between the two GPUs, and does it matter?

Benching Surface Studio GPUs

For my tests, I used two Surface Studios. One is the mid-range model with a Core i7-6820HQ, 16GB of RAM, and a NVIDIA GTX 965m, which retails for $3,499. The second version is the top-tier version with the same Core i7-6820HQ, but 32GB of RAM and the NVIDIA GTX 980m, which sells for $4,199.

When using Geekbench 4.0, which is mostly CPU intensive, the two Studios are virtually identical.

Geekbench 4.0 benchmarks (Higher is better)

The 980m gets a slight advantage here, but it's nothing significant. When running Windows Store apps and using CPU-intensive applications, the devices perform the same. Of course, the 980m has an extra 16GB of RAM (for a total of 32GB), which will matter if you use virtual machines or other memory-intensive operations.

Both Studios outperform the coveted Razer Blade Pro in raw CPU power, which demonstrates that the processor used by Microsoft is a decent choice.

When looking at the GPU using Geekbench 4.0 and CUDA scores we can see where the 980m begins to pull away from the 965m. CUDA is an NVIDIA technology found only in its video cards. CUDA-enabled GPUs allow for general-purpose processing, and it is a big deal for video rendering and general PC performance. I'll add the Razer Blade 14, which has a NVIDIA GTX 1060, and the Razer Blade Pro with a GTX 1080 for context.

Geekbench 4.0 CUDA (Higher is better)

While still behind a gaming laptop, the GTX 980m gets a 46 percent higher Geekbench score than the GTX 965m. We'll see later that this jump is reflected in some real-world gaming benchmarks.

Turning to 3DMark's Time Spy, which relies on DirectX 12 and is ideal for high-end machines, again we can see where the 980m lands compared to the 965m.

3DMark (Time Spy 1.0; Higher is better)

In using the comparison tool for Time Spy, the 980m gets a 99.4 percent boost over the 965m in all tests. In Graphics Test 1, the 980m managed to get 18FPS versus 8.5 FPS with the 965m. For Graphics Test 2, the result was similar with 15FPS versus 8 for the 965m. For those curious, Time Spy is very intensive, and the Razer Blade Pro managed to get 39 FPS and 35 FPS in the same tests.

Overall, the GTX 980m, introduced two years ago, is best thought of as a boost GPU rather than for intensive tasks. While it fails to reach VR-ready status for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift minimum specifications, it is significantly stronger than an Ultrabook like the new HP Spectre x360 15, which can only eek out 3.5 FPS in Time Spy.

Real-world gaming

The Surface Studio is not marketed, sold or even suggested as a gaming rig (although Microsoft had no problem showing it playing games at its November launch event, including a demo of Halo Wars 2).

Nonetheless, gaming helps push the boundaries of graphics on the devices, and even professional artists and graphics nerds may want to play an occasional game on that amazing display. Here's a look at how each GPU performs on some intensive modern games.

Gears of War 4 (UWP)

For Gears of War 4 the results at 1920x1280 gaming are clear. While Gears is playable on both machines, only the GTX 980m lets you hit the sweet spot at 60 FPS using high settings. The GTX 965m struggles to even get past 40 FPS.

Just for fun, here are my ideal and recommended settings for Gears of War 4 on the Surface Studio with 980m:

Gears of War 4 UWP ideal settings

Rise of the Tomb Raider is another popular game that scales very well to all types of hardware but tends to really benefit high-end systems with robust graphics. For this test, I enabled support for DirectX 12 with FXAA anti-aliasing on and Vertical Sync disabled.

Rise of the Tomb Raider (UWP)

Again, you can scale the resolution down and tune down the graphics on Rise of the Tomb Raider to boost the GTX 965m's frame rate, but it will never hit 60 FPS without a severe degradation in graphics quality.

While such downscaling is fine on a 15-inch laptop, when using the Surface Studio's massive 28-inch one at 2.5 feet (76 cm) the lack of detail is striking.

Bottom line

I can summarize the difference between the Surface Studio with GTX 965m versus Surface Studio with GTX 980m like this: While the 965m lets you do some gaming and other high-end graphic processing it is the 980m that will let you really enjoy it.

I use the Surface Studio with GTX 980m as my main PC. I also regularly play Gears of War 4 Horde Mode with my close friends and use the Surface Studio. It's an excellent experience when settings are at 1920x1280 and on high, and I often prefer it over my TV and Xbox. In that sense, it's a decent gaming machine, even if that's not what it is designed for.

Of course, if you want a PC for gaming there are dozens of better – and cheaper – options that will deliver significantly better performance at much higher resolutions.

However, that's not the point of this article, which is to show that the GTX 980m is, for all intents and purposes, twice as powerful as the GTX 965m. That context is valuable when considering a Surface Studio purchase. The difference is not some slight bump but a significant boost in graphics performance.

When using applications such as Adobe Photoshop for image editing or Adobe Premiere for video rendering, the GTX 980m is in every way preferred over the GTX 965m. Can I feel a difference when editing a 25MP photo on the 980m compared to the 965m when doing even simple things like cropping or adding filters? You bet I can.

That conclusion results in the uncomfortable recommendation that if you are considering the Surface Studio for home or professional use you should get the one with the GTX 980m if possible. I hate saying that because Microsoft only offers that version in the top-tier $4,200 version, and that's one heck of a commitment. While you certainly can get by with the GTX 965m for graphics, drawing and more, the experience is more enjoyable on the GTX 980m.

See at Microsoft Store

It's not surprising that the more expensive Surface Studio provides a better experience than the cheaper one, but you now have some raw numbers and context to understand the actual differences between the two.

Lots of folks are saying Microsoft has out-Appled Apple, especially after the two company's most recent PC-focused launch events. In one corner, the Cupertino crew has long been known for pushing design boundaries on its products. In the other is team Redmond, known for Windows and Office.

It's the second of these two companies that arguably is delivering more "wow" factor in its hardware designs of late. The Surface Studio is Microsoft's first desktop PC, and it's an all-in-one no less. Its creative focus puts it firmly in the battleground with the iMac, the longest running all-in-one computer.

Updated Feb 7, 2017 We added some fresh new images, links and details for context.

See at Microsoft

Since Apple didn't refresh the iMac at its most recent hardware event, we'll be pitting the Surface Studio up against the latest models on sale in the Apple Store.

First, some specs.

You can't compare the software directly because it's like comparing a train and a bus. Both will get you there, just in different ways. What is worth highlighting is the incredible focus Microsoft has put on creators in the Surface Studio and with the Surface Dial. Creative pros have long been buying Macs, and Microsoft has done an incredible job at outdoing the competition.

Does the iMac have touch? Pen input? Does it fold down? OK, the last one is probably super-niche, but the Surface Studio certainly has some stand-out hardware features. In comparison, the iMac is like most of the standard Windows all-in-ones: A PC and a monitor in one box.

Apple does, however, cater to those looking for high-resolution displays, with both 4K and a whopping 5K available across the iMac range. The Surface Studio has that True Scale technology built in and sRGB colors, while the iMac goes beyond sRGB and into a P3 color gamut with 25 percent more colors.

Much of the rest of the hardware is comparable. Similar processors, similar RAM, similar storage options all pad out the various configurations. The high-end 980M GPU in the Surface Studio will be a better pick than the Radeon mobile graphics in the iMac, but it's also only available on the most expensive model.

Then there's the price. For once, Apple isn't the most expensive technology vendror. That's mostly down to Microsoft's 4500 x 3000 resolution, 28-inch touch display, which on its own makes up a good chunk of the asking price of the Surface Studio. Those working in creative industries will often throw in a Wacom Cintiq drawing and display tablet (starting at around $800, all the way up to around $2,000) to accompany an iMac, inflating the price. Microsoft offers similar functionality in a single package, on a single display, which could be a workflow improvement.

The 27-inch iMac starts at $1,799, almost half of the $2,999 asking price of the cheapest Surface Studio. Even adding the specs to the iMac doesn't bring up the price to that level.

But here's the thing: The Surface Studio isn't just an all-in-one PC, which is sort of what it makes the iMac look like. It's pretty, packing some nice hardware and perfectly capable, but Microsoft has gone far beyond that. It has transcended the all-in-one and created a unique PC product unlike anything else out there today. Yes, it's expensive, but it's almost incomparable right now.

See at Microsoft

• More: Surface Studio review
• More: Surface Dial review

Last week I gave my review of the Surface Studio. There's still more to the story as I now have the high-end version with the NVIDIA GTX 980m GPU in the office. That version doubles the video memory from 2 to 4GB and gives a nice boost to graphics.

We'll have a showdown in gaming and benchmarks between the two as well as the SSD upgrade, but for now, I just want to share a few things that Microsoft should do for the Surface Studio 2.

Preface

In my review, I noted how the overall concept of the Studio was a hit. I think Microsoft spent a lot of time agonizing over detail, quality and making a 'wow' product and they 100% succeeded. The issue I have is some of the internal hardware seems a bit of an afterthought.

Of course, it's not without reason why the Surface Studio's guts are those of a high-end laptop. Cost, thermal considerations, size, overall design, and general engineering constraints limit what Microsoft can do with the goals they sought to achieve.

Nonetheless, I reserve the right to complain about what I think are some drawbacks from what is otherwise an engineering marvel – just one of the perks of my job! This article is not so much second guessing either as I am confident that the intended audience of this product – creative professionals – will also want these improvements.

1. USB Type-C with Thunderbolt 3

My number one thing I would change with the Surface Studio would be the omission of a USB Type-C port supporting Thunderbolt 3.

Why prioritize that over other things in this list? It's simple: Type-C with Thunderbolt 3 is very powerful – yet relatively cheap. With it, you could, in theory, you can use an external GPU (eGPU) of your choice. That means you can buy the Studio and continually upgrade its graphics card based on your budget and needs whenever you want. That kind of future-proofing passes the costs on to the consumer but also breathes a few extra years into the Studio.

Thunderbolt 3 would also be enable use of the Surface Studio as just a display. For now, you cannot do that as it only does display out and not display in.

The Microsoft-provided options of an NVIDIA 965m or 980m are anemic for a desktop PC designed for animators, artists, and creatives but with an eGPU, you could, in theory, boost the Studio up to a GTX 1080. You'll lose some of that juice with the Type-C cable, but it would still be a massive jump in performance. You can't just throw Type-C though on to any system as you need a modern motherboard and processor to support the technology. That's where it gets a bit complicated.

External GPUs are still very new and quirky, which is likely one reason Microsoft held off on it for the Studio. A Surface Studio 2 though with USB Type-C, Thunderbolt 3, and an eGPU could be a lot of fun, though!

2. Offer a pure SSD option

Obvious confession here, but… I'm a bit of a hardware snob. I feel sorry for those who must use a hard disk drive in 2017, especially the slow 5400 RPM SATA II utilized in the Surface Studio. Microsoft makes this situation a bit better by using a faster SSD for the OS with some extra storage to boot. This setup is what's called an Intel Rapid Hybrid Drive as it's basically like a RAID 0 setup, but with two different storage technologies. The OS sees it just as a single C: drive, but performance can vary from somewhat quick to slow depending on where what is stored.

I get why companies use Rapid Hybrid Drive setups: cost. It's literally in between a straight HDD installation and an SSD one, but you can also get a lot of storage space. It's certainly better than a pure HDD solution.

Dell learned their lesson with their all-in-one the XPS 27. That too had a hybrid drive years ago, and it still does for the new 2017 version. The difference is Dell is now offering just a full SSD option for those will pay for it. I like that approach. Pass the cost on to the consumer that is willing to shoulder that cost.

The thing is the Surface Studio starts at $3,000 and goes up to $4,200. That's absurd, but fair for the product. If you're already pondering dropping $4200 on a PC getting you to "splurge" for a high-end SSD is an easy sell.

Ironically, going with just a pure SSD would have saved room in the Studio's tightly packed base. They could have used that for better cooling or an improved GPU.

3. Get a better GPU

File this under obvious, but the GPUs used in the Surface Studio are…underwhelming. Sure, a GTX 965m for the Surface Book is one thing, but in a full desktop for creatives? Try doing 3D anything with a GTX 965m and 2GB of video memory. The GTX 980m with 4GB of VRAM is a step in the right direction, but still a bit weak for what is a 4.5K display.

Again, Microsoft was dealing with timelines and thermal constraints. Re-engineering the Surface Studio for NVIDIA's Pascal 10 series GPUs is not something you just do overnight. Nonetheless, talk to any tech person or creative professional, and they will tell you that at least a GTX 1060 would have been the bee's knees for the Surface Studio.

For now, unless you don't care about performance I would steer clear of the 965m altogether and just for the 980m option. Too bad that means you are forced to buy the top-end $4,200 Surface Studio to get it.

4. Desktop CPUs

This recommendation goes under the same explanations for the GPU, which is heat and cost consideration. The Surface Studio uses an Intel quad-core processor (good), but they are the ones designed for laptops (bad).

Is it too much to ask to have a Surface Studio with a Core i7 and 65W to hit that 4GHz range? It was likely a problem with the small base of the Studio, so Microsoft will have to rethink it for the Surface Studio 2 – maybe make the base bigger to fit in better thermal management bits?

I'm not even talking about having to wait for the 7th Generation Intel Kaby Lake processors, as a Core i7-6700 would have been just fine.

5. Make it modular

The original patent for the Surface Studio hinted at a modular system. The benefit of this would be clear for an all-in-one: future upgradability. All-in-ones are amazing because they're so clean and minimal.

The downside is you cannot upgrade them so after a few years they begin to wane. Being able to swap out the CPU, GPU, RAM, or even add new features lets Microsoft offer it for lower prices and lets the user have some control.

Making the Surface Studio modular – or any all-in-one for that matter – is not easy. That's why no one else has done it yet. Not to mention modules bring their own issues, including future-proofing, availability, etc. Microsoft would have to lock-in to a system and stay there for it to work and that's a significant risk. But hey, we can dream, right?

The bottom line

The Surface Studio is a fantastic creation, but there is a lot of room for improvement. That's fine. It's a Gen-1 product with purposefully limited availability. Microsoft will learn from what people want and adjust going forward. I also get how the Surface Studio is more iMac than Mac Pro, but even the iMac offers pure SSD storage and a Core i7-6700K solution to consumers. That's all I'm asking for here: some choices when purchasing.

See at Microsoft Store

Did I miss anything? Am I being too harsh? Let me know what you think in comments!

We've compiled a list of accessories we believe you should consider for the Surface Studio. If you've purchased Microsoft's professional all-in-one PC, be sure to check out our round-up of products:

• Surface Dial
• Surface Pen Tip Kit
• WD 2TB Elements
• Surface Ergonomic Keyboard
• Sabrent Premium USB Hub

Surface Dial

The Surface Dial was launched alongside the Surface Studio. It's a must-have for any Surface Studio owner, allowing one to take advantage if easy access to shortcuts, controls, drawing tools, and more. Since this product is designed to be used by professionals, enabling them to access specific tools and features more conveniently is a huge bonus to productivity.

The Dial will work with other devices too, like the Surface Pro 4. Should you own another Surface in the home or office, you'll be able to use the Dial with both your tablet and your Studio. The Surface Pen also works wonders when used in conjunction with the Surface Pen.

See at Microsoft

Surface Pen Tip Kit

The Surface Studio is a powerful tool for drawing, but an artist doesn't want to rely on a keyboard and mouse to unleash their creativity on-screen. This is where the Surface Pen comes into play. Paired up with the Surface Dial, the Studio becomes a powerhouse for creative productivity, opening up quick access to various app-specific features, and enhancing freedom for drawing and writing.

Up to 18 months of battery is available too. This — of course — depends entirely on how much you'll be using the Pen with the Surface Studio, but it's good to know you can use your favourite tool on the PC and then a Surface Pro 4 when out of the office without worrying about it running out of juice. Luckily, Microsoft includes the Surface Pen with the Studio but we'd recommend the Pen Tip Kit for a variety of different swappable extras.

See at Microsoft

WD 2TB Elements

You're probably okay with the storage options available for the Surface Studio, but if you need to transfer data between machines and would rather keep a backup of content the Western Digital 2TB Elements offers affordable storage. It's one of the more popular portable drives around and will land you 2TB for under $100. It's USB 3.0 too so will take advantage of transfer speeds available in the all-in-one.

The portable drive is self-powered and only requires the USB connection to work as intended. The drives can be purchased in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB configurations, depending on just how much data you'll be backing up/transferring. Strongly recommended if you need to take data on the go.

See at Amazon

Surface Ergonomic Keyboard

The Surface Studio comes with a minimalist keyboard and mouse package. While both are more than adequate for various applications, we would recommend you upgrade the keyboard to a more ergonomic style, like the Microsoft Surface Ergonomic Keyboard. As the name suggests, this peripheral will ensure your hands are positioned accordingly that fully allows for a more comfortable experience if you make full use of all ten fingers.

Just like other accessories from Microsoft, the is no 2.4 GHz USB receiver dongle needed — this keyboard is 100% Bluetooth so connecting it to the Studio is a breeze. The only downside is the lack of backlit illuminated keys, but that would take mean the battery would take a hit and we can live with that.

See at Microsoft

Sabrent Premium USB Hub

In case the included four USB 3 ports simply are unable to handle your vast array of accessories and peripherals, there are options available that expand the total number of ports. One such solution is the Sabrent Premium USB Hub that offers 3 extra USB 3 ports, as well an array of external card slots: SD, microSD, and CompactFlash.

While we get that the unit itself shares design similarities with that of Apple's own industrial design, it still looks great when installed next to the Surface Studio. As well as expanding the number of devices you can connect to the all-in-one, the Sabrent USB Hub also allows you to bring some of the ports to face forwards. No longer will you have to task yourself with reaching around the base to insert a memory stick.

See at Amazon

Your accessories

What extras do you enjoy using with your Surface Studio? Showcase your much-loved accessories in the comments!

Both the Surface Studio and Surface Pro 4 recently snagged a batch of firmware updates. As is usually the case, release notes for the updates weren't available right away, but Microsoft has since added changelogs for both updates to its Surface Update tracker.

Here's what's new with the Surface Studio:

• NVIDIA driver update for NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M [[ applicable to i7 platform devices ]] - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M 21.21.13.7620 - Reduces time to wake from sleep and improves compatibility with the latest games.
• NVIDIA driver update for NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M [[ applicable to i5 platform devices ]] - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M 21.21.13.7620 - Reduces time to wake from sleep and improves compatibility with the latest games.
• Microsoft - Firmware - Surface UEFI - 117.1394.768.0 - Improves time to wake up from sleep and speech recognition accuracy.
• Intel(R) Corporation driver update for Intel(R) Smart Sound Technology (Intel(R) SST) OED - Intel(R) Smart Sound Technology (Intel(R) SST) OED - 8.20.0.968 - Improves reliability of Skype call audio and notification alerts.
• Intel(R) Corporation driver update for Intel(R) Smart Sound Technology (Intel(R) SST) Audio Controller - Intel(R) Smart Sound Technology (Intel(R) SST) Audio Controller - 8.20.0.968 - Improves reliability of Skype call audio and notification alerts.
• Intel(R) Corporation driver update for Intel(R) Ethernet Connection (2) l219-LM - Intel(R) Ethernet Connection (2) l219-LM - 12.15.23.8 - Improves Ethernet connection stability.

And here's what's new with the Surface Pro 4:

• Microsoft – Firmware – 2.0.302.0 - Surface Pro 4 Firmware Update - 2.0.302.0 improves keyboard stability.
• Intel Corporation - HIDClass – 1.2.0.78 - Intel Precise Touch Device - 1.2.0.78 disables touch when cover is closed.
• Microsoft Driver update for Surface Integration Service Device - Surface Integration Service Device - 1.0.241.0 improves battery life during sleep.
• Microsoft Driver update for Surface Integration - Surface Integration - 1.0.121.0 improves battery life during sleep.
• Microsoft driver update for Surface Storage Firmware Update - Surface Pro 4 - Surface Toshiba Storage Firmware Update driver - 1.1.617.0 improves storage performance.
• Microsoft Driver update for Surface Embedded Controller Firmware - Surface Embedded Controller Firmware - 103.1414.256.0 adds support for an upcoming product release.
• Microsoft – System – 103.1413.258.0 - Surface System Aggregator - 103.1413.258.0 adds support for an upcoming product release.
• Microsoft – Firmware -106.1414.768.0 - Surface UEFI - 106.1414.768.0 improves system stability.

Have you noticed any performance improvements since grabbing the updates? Let us know in the comments!

Update: Microsoft has since posted release notes for this batch of firmware updates. You can check them out here.

A fresh firmware update has just started rolling out to the Surface Studio. Available to download via Windows Update, the update comes in at version number 117.1394.768.0, but it's unclear what's new.

At the moment, there's nothing on the Surface Studio update tracker to indicate what's new in this update. However, the update appears to have only just started rolling out, so it's likely the changelog will show up there in a short while.

In the meantime, if you're lucky enough to have a Surface Studio of your own, you should be able to grab the update now. We'll update this post with more once the changelog is available.

Microsoft had a pretty busy week last week thinking about it, with two major builds released to Insiders, the announcement of Game Mode and upcoming improvements to the Xbox One dashboard, and we even had our own Surface Studio review go live! We talk all that, and more in this weeks podcast.

Help us make this show the best Microsoft podcast in the world. Tell your friends, share it on social media using the hashtag #wcpodcast, and give us a five-star rating wherever you download your podcasts! Thank you so much for listening!

We've got two options for you, either the video podcast or the audio podcast, both featuring the same content.

Show Notes

• 1:17: Build 15002/7
• 31:10: Xbox One Game Mode
• 41:13: Surface Studio review
• 57:01 YubiKey

Subscribe to the podcast

• Download directly: Audio
• Listen via: Windows Central app Windows 10 | Android
• Subscribe via iTunes
• Subscribe via RSS
• Subscribe via Google Play Music
• Subscribe via Pocket Casts

Hosts

• Daniel Rubino
• Zac Bowden

Make this show great by participating!

Send in your comments, questions, and feedback to:

• Email: wcpodcast@windowscentral.com
• Twitter: @WindowsCentral with hashtag #wcpodcast
• Or leave a comment below!

Microsoft's Surface Studio is perhaps its most ambitious – yet odd – addition to the Surface line yet. In many ways, it is the most inspiring desktop computer to launch at a time when PC sales are struggling for the fifth straight year.

Starting at $3,000 and going all the way up to $4,200, the Studio is a significant investment. What did Microsoft get right and what did they get wrong? There are plenty of pros and cons with the unique creation inspired PC that I found in my few weeks of using it.

For years now, PC manufacturers have been struggling with a way to get consumers interested again in desktop computers. The issue is not so much the hardware – or even the cost – but rather our time being divided between increasingly powerful phones, tablets, laptops, and even our TVs. Why sit in front of a clunky PC when you can do the same task on your phone?

To that question of what a desktop PC is for in the year 2017 Microsoft has at least one answer: artistry. Combined with the forthcoming Windows 10 Creator's Update in the spring and Microsoft is packing a double punch of inspiration for artists, engineers, architects and anyone that needs to use a digital pen for 2D and 3D creations.

Redefining what we use a desktop PC for, or perhaps, enabling a new ability is a smart move. In fact, it's the only move that can save desktop computers from complete obsolescence. The problem with that strategy and one that clearly faces the Surface Studio is perhaps too niche.

See at Microsoft Store

Big and beautiful

Microsoft Surface Studio Display

The Surface Studio is hands-down the most gorgeous, visually appealing desktop PC I have ever seen. That conclusion extends beyond a tech reviewer's experience — "normal" people who have seen my Studio also react viscerally upon seeing it for the first time. It all comes down to one reason: that display.

A 28-inch PixelSense display with a 4500x3000 resolution is the main attraction of the Surface Studio. I have no issue with claiming it's the best display I have seen on a PC. Part of that is due to the taller-than-normal 3:2 aspect ratio, which is a departure from the wider and more traditional 16:9 found on most desktop displays. I enjoy that layout for work, browsing the web and even gaming. The 3:2 choice mirrors the Surface Pro and Surface Book series and approximates what a pair of legal-sized sheets of paper would be like in an all-digital world. It's thin, it's bright, incredibly intense and supports sRGB, Vivid, and DCI-P3 color profiles. It's also a 10-point touch screen that supports inking using Microsoft's Surface Pen.

Within the display sit four speakers – two on the left and two on the right – plus a subwoofer within in the base PC, making it a Dolby Audio Premium set up. The speakers point down, are completely hidden, and they sound much better than you would expect. While it's no Dolby ATMOS, it's quite impressive considering the engineering design constraints that faced Microsoft.

The entire display is supported by a feat of engineering that Microsoft refers to as the Zero Gravity Hinge. Made from polished chrome that reflects light at angles away from your eye helps to diminish their visual presence. All the wiring for the display and everything up there — the speakers, touch panel, the camera — runs through the hinges, along with the finely-tuned springs that keep the display firmly in place but yet allow for nearly effortless repositioning from an upright panel to a nearly-flat worktop. The result is a seamless, clean aesthetic that you will surely take for granted despite the years of work it took Microsoft to achieve such a design.

A tale of two extremes

Microsoft Surface Studio Hardware

That jaw-dropping screen and futuristic hinge all sit atop what is likely the biggest disappointment with the Studio: the actual computer. Microsoft suggests that even without the PC guts the Studio's display would push it well beyond $2,000. A touch display of this size isn't cheap, and while I thoroughly approve of Microsoft's choice to use a 3:2 display, it's a panel they had to have custom produced as no other monitors use that unique size and resolution.

All of that makes the innards of the Surface Studio underwhelming. Granted, this is nearly always the case with all-in-ones but rarely do such computers start at $3,000.

With three different configuration options to choose from, the person buying the Studio must make some difficult choices. For one, all the storage options rely on an Intel Rapid Hybrid system that is a mishmash of a relatively fast SSD for the OS, and a slower, mechanical hard disk drive for mass storage. Your choices? 64GB SSD with 1TB HDD, 128GB SSD with 1TB HDD, or a 128GB SSD with 2TB HDD.

For as much as the Surface Studio costs, it's frustrating that there's no an all-SSD option, as you'll find on lesser-priced gaming rigs and high-end laptops. I don't see the issue with price if you're already getting me to consider a $4,000 desktop PC – why haggle over a few hundred more? These are not even the best components; the SSD is only SATA (and not the faster NVMe variant), and the hard disk is SATA 2 as opposed to the faster SATA 3. And while you technically can replace the Rapid Hybrid setup with a pure SSD after-market solution, it's far from easy and not for the faint of heart.

Next up are the processors. There are two options with a 6th generation Intel Core i5 (6440HQ) for the lowest configuration or a higher-end Core i7 (6820HQ) for the top two choices. I don't begrudge the lack of Kaby Lake (7th generation) Intel chipsets, as the benefit for desktop users is almost non-existent. But keep in mind these are 45W chips found in larger laptops and not a more powerful 65W desktop components like the preferred i7-6700. That's a significant drop in performance from 3.4- to 2.7GHz, with Turbo dropping from 4 to 3.6GHz.

RAM starts also comes in three configurations at 8, 16, and 32GB DDR4. There is also built in Wi-Fi 802.11ac (a/b/g/n compatible), a dedicated Ethernet port, and Bluetooth 4.0 for connectivity.

Finally, there are the GPU choices. Again, the options are outdated and skewed oddly. The options include an NVIDIA GTX 965M (with 2GB GPU GDDR5) for the two lower configurations with a higher-end NVIDIA GTX 980M (with 4GB GPU GDDR5) for the most expensive one. Neither of these is ideal for a top-tier desktop system in 2017 — they are laptop-class GPUs — but why force the user to choose at all even between the two Core i7 CPU configurations? Timing is blamed on the omission of NVIDIA's latest 10-series of Pascal GPUs, which is extremely unfortunate for such an expensive computer.

Microsoft claims that thermal considerations, the size of the base, overall cost, and keeping the fan noise to a minimum were driving factors behind these hardware choices. I get that, especially if hunched over the Studio while in draft mode as you want to avoid the experience of a working over a hair dryer. Nonetheless, dropping $4,200 for a PC that is made from outdated mid-range laptop parts does lead to disappointment. If for no other reason than it's self-limiting the Studio's appeal to a larger audience. Combined with the inability to upgrade most of the components yourself and the Studio is a very non-future-proofed investment.

If keeping noise low was a goal, Microsoft accomplished that task. In my tests, the Studio never went above 80db under a heavy load and usually hovered in the low to mid 70db range when measured inches from the base. When sitting with the Studio on a normal desk things drop to 60db range. While you can hear some general airflow from the Studio during normal operation, it's not distracting or annoying and in most office environments you won't even notice.

To recap, here are your three configuration options for the Surface Studio:

See at Microsoft Store

And that's it. Unlike many other PCs, there are no customization options here. I'm assuming that's due to Microsoft's drive to reduce production costs and delays, but there's no way to mix and match RAM, storage, CPU, or GPU choices. Want more storage? You'll have to pony up for the top-end system.

The Studio comes with the matching and minimalist Surface Keyboard and Surface Mouse combo in the box. Both are better than average, but full-time typists will want to use something a bit larger and more robust like the Surface Ergonomic Keyboard. Luckily, you can use any USB wired or Bluetooth-enabled peripherals you want with the Studio so feel free to pair and match various accessories. For those who preordered the Studio Microsoft tossed in a free $99 Surface Dial, which can be used on the display in conjunction with the included Surface Pen.

In the base of the Studio, you will find no less than four USB 3.0 ports, Ethernet, an SD Card reader, Mini DisplayPort, and a 3.5mm headset jack. These are in the rear of the Studio, which gives the computer an immaculate look from the front but makes inserting an SD card a blind adventure unless you physically move the darn thing.

What's missing, of course, is a USB Type-C port with Thunderbolt 3 support. USB Type-C is still an emerging technology, but there is little doubt over its usefulness, ease of use, and ability to handle many video and media tasks — especially the even-faster (40Gbps) Thunderbolt 3 variant. While not crucial yet for many people in a year or two the port is likely to be ubiquitous in our cadre of technological devices. The Studio has no answer for this and is just omitted.

The Mini DisplayPort lets you daisy-chain external monitors from the Studio, but there is no video input to the PC. That means you cannot use the Studio as just a 'dumb monitor' for some higher-end hardware, or even a Surface Book.

For a camera, Microsoft opts for a great 5MP front-facing one built with dual IR cameras for Windows Hello facial recognition. It's one of the best web cameras I have used, and the Windows Hello auto-login is such a fantastic addition that it makes using the Studio a joy.

As a traditional PC…

Putting aside the main raison d'être for the Studio — drawing and creation, which I'm not qualified to evaluate — how is it as just a PC? The only reason why the question is worth asking is that the appeal of the Studio goes beyond its intended audience, which Microsoft may not have anticipated.

Frankly, the experience of using the Studio for everyday web browsing, productivity (Office, Adobe Photoshop), and even light gaming is mostly fantastic. That opinion comes down to the display experience, which is so overwhelming as to overshadow the Studio's other hardware flaws.

Nonetheless, those flaws do exist. My main PC is a custom-built desktop tower with a speedy Samsung 850 Pro SSD. While not the fastest storage solution in 2017, it handles most app and game loading with ease akin to many high-end Ultrabooks. In comparison, the Surface Studio feels sluggish because of its Rapid Hybrid system. Sure, the OS and few apps that are in SSD seem fast, but as soon as something loads from the hard disk the slowness becomes apparent and disappointing.

The same doubly applies for any advanced gaming. Again, Microsoft makes almost zero claims when it comes to high-end gaming and the Surface Studio. But when eyeing that eye-popping display, it's hard not to want to do more with, it including running some quality FPS titles. Gears of War 4 does play on it, as expected, but those downgraded graphics are more noticeable on a 28-inch PixelSense display than a more forgiving 14-inch Surface Book.

Lighter titles like Pinball FX2 handle much better. The other oddity is the inclusion of Xbox wireless controller support. While it's great that Microsoft added that, and it works very well for casual gaming, it's a weird mixed message they're sending to gamers who may want a Studio.

All in all, for the average person the Surface Studio is a beautiful solution, so long as you can swallow the massive price tag. It goes without saying if budget and performance are considerations, then there are more suitable solutions you should consider, even if they're nowhere near as awe-inspiring as the Studio.

Above average, but not exceptional

Surface Studio Benchmarks

When it comes down to benchmarks, the Surface Studio is above average when compared to most PCs, but falls short of gaming PCs, VR-capable devices, or high-end 4K systems. None of that is too surprising, but for comparison here is some data collected from Futuremark's PCMark 8 and 3DMark (Time Spy) along with Geekbench 4.0 and CrystalDiskMark.

PCMark 8

3DMark (Time Spy)

Overall, the Studio does decently on PCMark 8 and 3DMark. Nonetheless, you can see how when it comes to high-end graphics the Studio struggles. One knock against the Studio is it's clearly not ready for VR gaming although it should be okay for some light holographic work.

Geekbench 4.0 Benchmarks (Higher is better)

Regarding raw CPU, the Surface Studio fares better than a high-end gaming laptop like the quad-core Razer Blade 14 (late-2016). Considering the Studio's CPU and GPU are laptop-class components this result is expected. Still, those numbers are far below a "true" desktop PC setup with 65W Intel processor and a non-mobile GPU.

Geekbench 4.0 CUDA (Higher is better)

It's not entirely clear why the Surface Studio's GTX 965M underperforms when compared to the same GTX 965M found in the Surface Book with Performance Base, but the results were consistent across multiple tests.

CrystalDiskMark (Higher is better)

The Surface Studio's Intel Rapid Hybrid drive (SSD + HDD) combo is not the best performer. Read speeds – what most people will experience when using the Studio – are akin to a quality PC Ultrabook in 2017. Write speeds, however, are dismal at 512 MB/s.

Clearly, upgrading the Hybrid drive to a pure SSD system based on something like the Samsung 960 EVO or even 960 PRO will yield double the reads and more than triple the write speeds. Unfortunately, while possible, the upgrade is very technical.

A victim of its success?

Microsoft Surface Studio: The Bottom Line

Microsoft's Surface Studio is an ambitious yet purposefully niche answer to a small demographic: creative professionals. That was likely the right decision to make too. In doing so, Microsoft does not need to sell this PC to the masses – both literally and figuratively. Nor would they want to as that would hurt their PC partners like Dell, Lenovo, and HP who all have unique, well-built all-in-ones for the average consumer.

Still, in creating the Surface Studio Microsoft may have made it too good in its overall appeal. There is not a single person who I spoke with or showed the Studio too who did not want one. That yearning, however, always comes with the caveat "…even though I don't need it." Most consumers don't draw, at least in a professional manner, to warrant such an expensive purchase.

Microsoft created a computer that many people want, but don't necessarily need. Putting aside the money issue some people will drop $4,200 on a nice PC. That's where those hardware choices by Microsoft become more apparent as missed opportunities. Spending $4K on a high-end computer is one thing, but spending that much for one with already outdated and underperforming laptop internals is another. Even still, I'm not convinced that creatives would shun a simple SSD option or better GPU. Faster is faster, no matter what you are doing.

Are those fair criticisms? Yes and no. Microsoft targeted a particular demographic, and for them, I think the Surface Studio is a success. Sure, artists may have a few requests here and there, but I think Microsoft's goal was achieved for this product.

The question is could Microsoft sell the Studio to even more people if their ambition let them? I think they could. The problem is Microsoft's hardware so far has been synonymous with consumers (Surface Hub, notwithstanding), whereas the Studio competes against long-standing drawing tablet maker Wacom. That's unexpected and a tougher message to deliver. Still, that's a good problem to have, right? I'm accusing Microsoft of creating a product that people want even if they can't justify it. That's the first step to creating a successful product line and opens the door for improvements with the next iteration. It's also a far better position than creating a product that has no direction or reason to exist.

For now, however, the Surface Studio should only be considered by and in the context of its intended audience – artists and creatives – while those without artistic abilities should aim for something more affordable and with better features. That's a tough pill for to swallow when you've seen it and you just want one. I totally get it. But odds are that the Surface Studio isn't for you. Maybe next time.

With the Studio, Microsoft again proved that they can create drool-worthy hardware and invent a new device category even as the desktop PC is well past its glory days. That's a resounding achievement and demonstrates that desktop computing still has a significant role to play in an increasingly mobile world.

See at Microsoft Store

Pros:

• Amazing display
• Beautiful, flawless design
• Rethinks the concept of the PC
• Fun to use

Cons:

• Very expensive
• Hybrid storage was a poor choice
• GPU is for laptops, and is outdated
• Odd configuration choices
• Some confusing messaging

According to a report, interest in Microsoft's Surface Studio is running pretty high. Microsoft's suppliers indicate that while the company initially expected to ship around 15,000 Surface Studios in their debut quarter, it may end up shipping around 30,000 units, reports DigiTimes (via Business Insider).

The report further adds that Microsoft expects to ship another 30,000 units throughout the first quarter of 2017. And given the lull in interesting new releases from Apple, it's not hard to see why some creative types might be eager to check out Microsoft's latest Surface offering, ultimately pushing demand past what was expected. Still, with the hefty starting price of the premium Studio PC and its limited availability, demand reaching double of what was expected would be pretty impressive.

As always, it's best to take these reports with the requisite grain of salt. However, since we'll likely never get unit breakdowns directly from Microsoft, this report offers a pretty interesting peek into how the Surface Studio may be doing.

It was only a few weeks ago that Microsoft unveiled to the world their PC for creators – the Surface Studio. The 28-inch all-in-one PC starts at $3K, and preorders are slowly trickling out to those who put their money down first.

Today, I'm going to unbox it, give you a quick tour, and some initial impressions! You don't want to miss this video or these photos.

The big box is now shipping, kind of

Inventory for the Surface Studio is super tight right now. In fact, you cannot even walk into a Microsoft Store and buy it. Preorders are shipping at a first come, first serve, basis, but if you order today you likely won't get one until "early 2017". Nonetheless, some orders do ship early (like ours), so no date is permanent. Shipping weight is about 32lbs (14.5kg) with 3-day shipping.

The reason for the slow rollout is manufacturing. Microsoft inspects each part that comes off the line looking for any manufacturing weaknesses and ensuring each build meets quality standards. Even the chrome hinges are individually polished to ensure no light reflections hits your eyes (I mention this in the video).

Considering some people will be paying $4200 for one of these bad boys Microsoft is taking no risks on cutting corners.

Our model

For now, we have the middle version (there are three levels). It runs for $3400 and features the quad-core Core i7 processor. This one also features 16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and the GTX 965M GPU with 2GB of video memory.

Here are the full specs:

Specs

Down the road, we'll see about comparing it to the top-end Studio that features 32GB of RAM and the more powerful GTX 980M with 4GB of video memory.

Initial thoughts

It's nice!

Of course, you would expect that from such an expensive and premium PC. Being more serious, it is as gorgeous and perfect as those ads lead you to believe. The hardware quality is impeccable, the packaging is fantastic, and the overall presentation is excellent.

Even the setup process is unflawed. Specifically, I mean how all the peripherals (mouse, pen, and keyboard) are all wireless. That matters during setup where you expect those to work as soon as you pull the battery tags. And they do, without pairing. The accessories turn on, and auto connects to your Studio with no waiting so that you can just go through the Out-of-Box (OOB) setup experience right away. That's one of those moments where you're like "this should do this automatically, and it does!". Nice touch, Microsoft.

So far, my only gripe is the storage. I actually would have preferred an all-SSD option instead of the split 'Rapid hybrid drive' (128GB SSD with 1TB HDD). To be fair, this drive evidently adjusts over time meaning your most frequently used apps get pushed to the faster SSD, while less commonly used or gigantic apps stay on the HDD. But you can feel that this machine could be faster. I run all-SSD desktop PCs (two of them, actually) and I know that the Studio could be more performant.

I do like the Surface Keyboard. I already reviewed the Surface Ergonomic one if you haven't seen that and while I still prefer Ergo the included keyboard here is solid. I'm less a fan of the Surface mouse. It works, but it's low profile compared to be my preferred Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic, which is like gripping a hamburger.

For those wondering about gaming, Pinball FX2 plays just great at 2XAA, and you can play Gears of War 4 albeit at medium settings. Gears was okay but you can see the detail degradation on such a beautiful display.

Windows Hello is stupid fast likely due to that quad-core processor. Speaking of that 5MP front camera is superb and likely the best out there (I'll compare it to a Logitech C920 eventually).

Overall, I'm very impressed. I even use the Studio a bit differently with the display closer. It's such a joy to look at and use especially with that 3x2 aspect.

See at the Microsoft Store

Stay tuned for my full review (likely post-Christmas) and more deep dives into the Microsoft Surface Studio. If you have specific questions answered put them in comments, and I'll try to cover it in my review or additional articles.

For those asking about the wallpaper used with the Surface Studio, it is copyrighted and paid for so we cannot share it. You can, however, find it here on Shutterstock. Also, watch the video to the very, very end ;)

The team over at iFixit is at it again, this time giving us a tantalizing glimpse at the insides of the Surface Studio. Overall, things are much as you'd expect if you've seen the Surface Studio's spec sheet. However, the iFixit team did stumble onto a couple of surprises worth noting.

Among the most interesting bits to come out of the teardown is that the Surface Studio packs an ARM processor behind the display. According to The Verge, the ARM chip is there to help power the PixelSense display, but it's definitely an interesting inclusion considering the Surface Studio relies on an Intel chip to power the rest of its functions.

As for iFixit's usual repairability scale, the Surface Studio scores a 5 out of 10. While you can fairly easily replace and upgrade the hybrid drive, Microsoft has soldered the RAM, CPU and GPU to the motherboard.

We're still waiting on a Surface Studio to arrive, and we'll have plenty of coverage when it does. However, we likely won't be tearing it apart to prod around its insides, so its worth checking out iFixit's full teardown for more.

See Surface Studio teardown at iFixit

Allow me to clarify. Microsoft isn't strictly, nor even primarily a hardware company. Redmond is a software and services company, but they are dead serious about hardware. And this sincerity is not simply a means to demonstrate to potential partners how their software and services are supposed to work on Window 10 hardware.

I know that contradicts the prevailing wisdom regarding the purpose of Redmond's first-party hardware. We live and learn. Mary Jo Foley recently posed a question to Microsoft's Windows Chief Terry Myerson regarding Microsoft's continued involvement in hardware:

Myerson's responses ultimately culminated with:

His statement takes us back to Microsoft's core mission, Satya Nadella's vision, a commitment to a family of devices that began under Steve Ballmer and a cultural shift toward customer obsession. Hardware is integral to Microsoft's mission, not a complementary peripheral strategy.

Microsoft's "do more" vision

Myerson's assertion that Microsoft's hardware efforts are part of a mission to help people achieve their potential echo's words Nadella shared shortly after he became CEO:

Nadella's "do more" vision includes software platforms, services and the devices that are the portal to those digital tools. Nadella continued:

Nadella sees a software-powered world where the delivery of devices and services is critical. He contends that Microsoft, in line with its "do more" strategy, has the best platform to change the world.

A family of devices; passing the baton

Nadella has continued the vision of his predecessor, Steve Ballmer. Their shared strategic vision is uniquely positioning Microsoft as the provider of a family of devices powered by a common shell.

In conjunction with its platform of software and services, Microsoft's first-party hardware is integral to their vision for helping users do more. Ballmer articulated this Windows-powered device strategy three years ago:

Almost two years after Ballmer's statements and one year into Nadella's tenure as CEO, Microsoft launched its family of Windows 10 devices.

The hardware innovation Redmond demonstrated, from Continuum on phone to the Surface Book, and later Surface Studio and Dial, reflects Microsoft's goal to create categories unique to their platform and software strengths. Take note, Redmond is not making hardware for hardware's sake. Hailing back to Nadella's statement shortly after becoming CEO, customers are at the core of Microsoft's innovation.

Customer obsession

In a statement about Microsoft's commitment to hardware Myerson said:

This hardware commitment is inextricably linked to customer satisfaction. A device must solve a problem, or (in line with Redmond's mission) help users "do more." Myerson explains how developing hardware begins with customers:

In an interview with Microsoft's Chris Yu, Mike Tholfsen and Chris Pratley I explored Microsoft's culture shift under Nadella. These men revealed a culture that moved from one of fear of failing to learning from mistakes and to customer obsession rather than chasing competitors. Some of the most profound insights came from Pratley as he candidly expounded on the shifts effects on Redmond's industry position:

Ironically, Redmond's current enterprise- versus consumer-focus of Windows Mobile seems to be an unfortunate -unavoidable?- return to a failed strategy in relation to the difficult phone category.

In it to win it

Microsoft's first-party Windows 10 devices are an integral part of the company's mission to help users do more. From the vision communicated by Ballmer, continued by Nadella and articulated by Myerson — "This is us pursuing our mission to help people achieve their potential." — it's clear that hardware is core to Microsoft's long-term business strategy. It's more than an investment to demonstrate optimal hardware and software synergy to partners.

Microsoft is indeed a hardware company, though not in the way that many thought.

It looks like both the new Surface Studio and Surface Book with Performance Base will be a good fit for engineers. Microsoft has announced that both devices are officially Siemens NX certified, meaning they'll offer up a solid experience when running the product design software.

Siemens says it has worked closely with Microsoft to make sure the Siemens NX software runs smoothly on both Surface devices. Here's how Siemens describes the certification itself:

Overall, Siemens sees the Surface Studio and new Surface Book as a boon for product design, praising the ease with which engineers can jump in and create with a combination of different inputs. One of the most intriguing new ways to interact with Siemens NX is with the new Surface Dial accessory, which Siemens says will support basic zooming, panning and rotating, as well as more complex tasks:

While the Surface Studio's merits for artists are obvious from the get-go, it's interesting to see how engineers — and really, anyone who creates — can leverage the all-in-one and its Surface Dial accessory. More importantly, it's a positive sign that the industry is supporting these Surface devices with formal certifications.

See at the Microsoft Store

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!

Microsoft recently introduced the Surface Studio, a 28-inch convertible, touch-screen PC that turns a desktop into a Studio and the Surface Dial, an innovative new peripheral.

In the wake of Redmond's category-defining presentation, Apple introduced a refreshed line of MacBooks. The souped-up hardware continued its legacy of high-end design and, as expected, an exclusion of a touch-screen experience.

As a metaphoric dip of a toe into a world that has gone all-in with all-touch, Apple sprawled a thin "strip of touch" across the top of the MacBook's keyboard. The TouchBar is Apple's way of participating in a world where digital content is manipulated through screens almost as naturally as one handles physical objects.

While Microsoft's full touch approach immerses users in their digital content; Apple continues to keep users, and their content at a virtual arm's length as the keyboard remains their only bridge to "touching" their content.

Apple's ideological shift toward productivity?

Apple has a history and a reputation as being the company that provides creators with the tools that they need to be creative. This reputation persists, though it is diminishing among the artistic elite. Still, despite evidence of lack of software support and complaints of Cupertino not updating the tools that have earned the company this coveted reputation Apple's iMac has retained the "creators PC" title. It is, however, losing some of that shine.

Having earned a position as a luxury device among creatives, one may wonder why Apple might risk losing this niche stronghold. One reason may have to do with the company's arguably over-dependence on the iPhone. With 60% of its revenue coming from its flagship device it makes strategic sense for them to invest in other income streams.

Thus, nurturing a perception of its line of computers as productivity tools for the mainstream has likely taken precedence over efforts to keep the iMac in the perception-box of a niche tool for creatives. This strategy probably paid off: while the PC saw declines over the past years the Mac has performed better than Windows PCs in many quarters. They even gained market share at the cost of PCs.

Apple's focus toward a more productive Mac experience may be why Cupertino introduced a "practical" TouchBar rather than an immersive "touch environment." When one considers Apple's competition: industry-inspiring aspirational productivity devices like the Surface and Surface Book and OEM devices they inspire, one can understand an ideological direction within Apple that may see a precedence in making a Mac more efficient as a productivity device.

Moving in a direction that does not (yet) see a touch-screen as necessary for that productivity vision has positioned Apple and Microsoft's approaches and missions at polar extremes.

All up in it

Microsoft's Creator's Update, new features like 3D Paint, and the Surface Studio compose the company's every-user-is-a-creator-vision — now paired a long productivity history with a strong pitch to be the platform for creatives of every level.

The tools that Microsoft has introduced to facilitate this vision are impressive in their ability to engulf a user in the creative process. According to Microsoft Surface Division head Panos Panay, the goal of the 28-inch Surface Studio is to provide a truly immersive environment.

The Surface Studio's ability to convert to a 20-degree angle that mimics classic drawing boards puts users in the same natural "all-up-in-the-content" creative position experienced when working with non-digital content. Panos bragged that the quality of the 4K display wouldn't allow users to see pixels even while in that immersed-position.

Combined with the Surface Dial, a new peripheral that lets users manipulate on-screen content, Microsoft's comprehensive touch vision further excites. When the Dial is placed on the Studio's screen the physical and digital worlds seemingly merge as a color palette or radial controls explode around the perimeter of where the base of the Dial and the screen meet.

The Surface Dial and Pen work in concert as naturally as a painters palette and brush as users effortlessly manipulate digital content with each tool. Microsoft's vision for touch to easily access and effortlessly manipulate digital information is reminiscent of the futuristic vision we saw in Minority Report.

Out of touch (or Can't touch this!)

Apple's reluctance to bring touch to macOS, and restricting even creative functions such as DJ and Video scrubbing controls to the keyboard via the TouchBar, is ironic.

Consider when Steve Job introduced the iPhone in 2007: direct interaction with the content via our fingers was the high point.

To see the rest of the world adopt touch in everything from PCs to ATMs, to vending machines and more to give users direct contact with digital content, while Apple keeps users and their content at arm's length through a TouchBar is indeed ironic.

The digitizing of keyboard controls, though uninspiring when compared to Microsoft's immersive touch approach, may have some practical benefits. Furthermore, the context sensitive nature of the TouchBar and its ability to be customized for a range of apps is a strength.

The Surface Dial, however, shares this strength, arguably with a much more engaging adaptation. For instance, like the TouchBar the Dial can be used to control audio volume. Moreover, rotating the Dial to adjust volume may feel more natural to users than poking at a thin strip on a keyboard.

Wrap Up

Apple and Microsoft are approaching touch from very different angles. Microsoft's approach is about putting users as close to their content as possible. By providing users an immersive digital experience that is an approximation of the physical world, Microsoft empowers users of varying skill levels to be creative and productive naturally.

Apple's TouchBar approach, digitizing keyboard functions on the keyboard, seems targeted more toward making the manipulation of PC and app controls more accessible and efficient. That said, Microsoft's customizable Surface Dial may prove capable of the same feat while remaining an engaging tool as part of an immersive digital experience.

Related Reading:

Microsoft's reimagining of the PC heralds a new generation of computer