What you need to know

  • The Sefree Apollo is a new Surface Studio clone set to go up for crowdfunding later this year.
  • The PC mimics the form factor of the Surface Studio 2 while serving up a 4K touch display and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics.
  • The Apollo will start out at $1,549 for early bird backers, putting at at less than half the price of a Surface Studio 2.

Microsoft's Surface Studio 2 is quite an attractive PC — particularly for designers — but it also comes at a hefty price. If you've been looking to get your hands on something similar at a much cheaper price, then the upcoming Sefree Apollo might be worth a look.

Starting at $1,549, the Sefree Apollo is about half the price of a Surface Studio 2. For the money, the Apollo looks to be a virtual clone of the Surface Studio 2, offering a compact PC base attached to a display that can be rotated between 95 and 15 degrees. That display is a 4K touch panel that should offer crisp visuals in either 27-inch or 32-inch options.

On the inside, the Apollo includes a choise of an Intel Core i5-8350 or Core i7-8550U processor. That's a lower powered chip than the Core i7-7820HQ processor in the Surface Studio 2, but it should be sufficient for getting some work done. Other hardware specs includ up to 512GB of SSD storage and up to 2TB of HDD storage, up to 32GB of RAM, and a choice between integrated graphics or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti discrete graphics.

The Apollo also includes a front-facing camera, but there's no word on its resolution or whether it supports Windows Hello like the Surface Studio.

The Sefree Apollo is set to go up for crowdfunding later this year, and you can sign up for updates and a chance to snag the super early bird pricing at the Apollo website. Prices will start out at $1,549 and top out at $2,199. If you're looking to pick something up a little sooner, check out our list of Surface Studio 2 alternatives.

The ultimate desktop PC

Surface Studio 2

There's nothing like it.

Featuring an NVIDIA GTX 1070 GPU and brighter display the Surface Studio 2 now performs as you would expect. The one-of-a-kind display and PC experience are pricey, but Surface Studio 2 is still incomparable to any other computer in the world.

Portable (and affordable) power accessories we love

Each and every one of these charging gadgets will keep your favorite gear and gadgets going for longer, and none of them costs more than $30.

VisionTek 8,000 mAh micro-USB power bank ($13 at Dell)

This compact dual-output powerbank can speedily recharge any and all your devices, thanks to a two-amp "fast charge feature," using its micro-USB out port. Its simple design includes an LED indicator, and it costs about as much as a single ticket to the movies.

Panasonic eneloop AA batteries (From $13 at Dell)

Panasonic's rechargeable batteries are among the best available, and just a couple of them will keep your favorite remote, mice or other peripherals powered up when you need them. They're also eco. And the company's affordable charger fits and charges both AA and AAA batteries at the same time.

Belkin Qi Wireless Charging Pad ($30 at Dell)

This unobtrusive Qi wireless charging pad looks good (and kind of like a UFO …) and easily charges all your Qi-compatible device up to 5W. Its LED indicator lights up when you're charging. And it costs just $30.

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