Microsoft has just unveiled a new desktop computer. In a media event in New York, the tech company revealed the Surface Studio, the latest product from their Surface line.
The thinnest Microsoft Surface Studio is merely 13 mm thick making it the thinnest LCD computer ever. The 28-inch touchscreen has 13.5 million pixels.
The Studio can be folded down to a 20-degree angle. This feature mainly targets artists, animators, architects, and other professionals who usually use a drafting table. Users can view their work in its actual size through the TrueScale feature.
The Studio employs a sixth-gen Intel i5 or i7 Core processor and is packed with a 4GB Nvidia GeForce GPU. It has 32GB of RAM and a 2TB hard drive. The Studio has a single dedicated power cable, four USB 3.0 jack ports, a Mini DisplayPort, a slot for an SD card, and an Ethernet port.
One of the newest devices that Microsoft also introduced is the Surface Dial. The Dial is physically based on a safe dial and functions like a jog or scroll wheel. The main difference is that the input device is a separate entity from the Studio.
The Dial is a desktop and an on-screen tool in one. It can be placed beside the Studio like a mouse beside a desktop computer. But when the user places the Dial on the screen of the Studio, it instantly engages a context-aware menu. Once the Dial is taken off the Surface, a digital version becomes visible on the screen. The Dial has a sticky base that attaches to the Studio even at an angled position.
Tech Crunch describes some of the scenes at the New York event involving the Surface Dial. In one booth, the Dial was used to adjust the size of a 3D model. With a turn of the Dial, the image can become smaller or bigger. In another station, an animated character was made to move frame by frame by turning the Dial.
The minimalist-looking Surface Dial is a standalone device though it was designed with the Studio. It works with other Surface devices. The Dial is available for $100 each.
Like the Surface Book and Surface Pro, the Surface Studio comes with a Surface Pen.
The new Microsoft Surface Studio is priced at $2,999 up to $4,199 and is now available for pre-order. The company will ship the orders in time for the holiday season although a limited number of Surface Studios will be available at the time.
