As expected, Microsoft today unveiled a Windows 10 all-in-one desktop, dubbed the Surface Studio.
The Studio sports a 28-inch "PixelSense" touch-screen display that Microsoft says is the "thinnest LCD monitor ever built" at 12.5mm thick. Redmond touted the AIO's 13.5 million pixels (63 percent more than a 4K TV, Microsoft says) and 3:2 aspect ratio for 192 pixels per inch.
It runs a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, a 2TB Rapid Hybrid Drive, and Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M graphics. There is an array of ports, including audio, SD, Mini DP, Ethernet, and USB 3.0, plus a power cord out the back.
The Studio is intended to "turn your desk into a studio," Microsoft's Panos Panay said during a Wednesday Microsoft event in New York City. The device is on a hinge, so you can push it down and draw on the touch screen with the Surface Pen, or manipulate it with the palm-sized, portable Surface Dial.
The Dial, Panay says, is a "new form of input" that essentially lets you more quickly access things on the screen: scroll through a pile of documents, zoom in or out, or turn down the brightness on your screen, for example. According to Panay, it will also work with other Surface products, like the Book and Pro 4. Pre-orders for the $99 device begin today in the US through Microsoft Stores, MicrosoftStore.com, select Best Buy locations and at BestBuy.com; it arrives November 10.
The Surface Studio is available for pre-order today, starting at $2,999 for a 1TB SSD running a sixth-gen Core i5, 8GB of RAM and a 2GB GPU. The top-of-the-line 2TB Studio with an Intel Core i7, 32GB of RAM, and a 4GB GPU will set you back $4,199.
Look for it to arrive in "limited quantities" this holiday season; the Microsoft website currently has a Dec. 15 release date. If that's too pricey, you can check it out at Microsoft Stores, starting tomorrow.
The Studio, Panay says, is for "anyone who wants to replace multiple monitors." It "truly brings out the creator in all of us," he says.
Microsoft is also giving last year's Surface Book a performance boost. The Surface Book i7 gets a chip upgrade thanks to Intel's Core processor, as well as 2x more graphics power than its predecessor.
Panay teased a "full thermal redesign of the product" that allows for more batteries that will keep the Surface Book i7 alive for up to 16 hours. "It's for the people really pushing performance," he said.
Pre-orders begin today, starting at $2,399, and the device arrives in November.
Also today, Microsoft teased a spring "Creators Update" for Windows 10.