Surface Studio

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Surface Studio
Microsoft Surface logo.svg
Surface Studio.png
Surface Studio in desktop mode with Surface Keyboard and Surface Mouse
Developer Microsoft
Product family Microsoft Surface
Type All-in-one PC
Generation1st
Release dateDecember 15, 2016 (2016-12-15)
Introductory priceUS$2,999-4,199
Operating system Windows 10 Pro
CPU Intel Skylake quad-core processor: [1]
i5-6440HQ
2.6 up to 3.5 GHz, 6 MB cache, 45 W [2]
i7-6820HQ
2.7 up to 3.6 GHz, 8 MB cache, 45 W [3]
Atmel ATSAMS70N21 32-bit ARM Cortex-M7 processor to power PixelSense display [4] [5]
Memory16 or 32 GB DDR4  RAM
StorageRapid hybrid drive options: 1 TB or 2 TB
Removable storage Full-size SD card slot
(supports SDXC cards)
Display28 inches (71 cm) 4500x3000 (192 ppi) PixelSense display with 3:2 aspect ratio with 10-point multi-touch and pen support
GraphicsNvidia GeForce GTX 965M with 6 GB of GDDR5 memory
Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M with 8 GB of GDDR5 memory (only available on Intel Core i7 with 32 GB RAM model)
SoundStereo speakers, dual microphones, headset jack
InputKeyboard, touchpad mouse, Surface Pen, Surface Dial, sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, ambient light
Connectivity 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, four USB 3.0 ports, Mini DisplayPort, Gigabit Ethernet
Successor Surface Studio 2
Website Surface.com
Surface Studio at Microsoft Store SurfaceStudio.jpg
Surface Studio at Microsoft Store

The Surface Studio is an all-in-one PC, designed and produced by Microsoft as part of its Surface series of Windows-based personal computing devices. It was announced at the Windows 10 Devices Event on October 26, 2016, with pre-orders beginning that day. [6] [7] [8]

Contents

The first desktop computer to be manufactured entirely by Microsoft, the Surface Studio uses the Windows 10 operating system with the Anniversary Update preinstalled. However, it is optimized for the Windows 10 Creators Update, which was released on April 11, 2017. The product, starting at $2,999, is aimed primarily at people in creative professions such as graphic artists and designers.

Two years later, in October 2018, Microsoft announced its successor, the Surface Studio 2.

Features

Hardware

The Surface Studio has a 28-inch 4.5K "PixelSense" display with 4500 x 3000 pixels, equivalent to 192 dpi. The screen, the thinnest ever built for an all-in-one PC at 12.5 millimetres thick, [9] is capable of being used in both the DCI-P3 and sRGB color spaces, and features a unique hinge design that allows it be tilted to a flat position, in a manner similar to the Wacom Cintiq. The bezel of the display contains a 5.0 megapixel camera and a Windows Hello-compatible backlit infrared camera.

The CPU is located in the base. Its compact design contains a 6th generation (codename "Skylake") Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processor and either a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M or GeForce GTX 980M graphics processor (both dependent on configuration). The system can be configured with up to 32 GB of DDR4 RAM and a 2 terabyte hard drive. It also features four USB 3.0 ports, a Mini DisplayPort, an SDXC card reader and a headset connection.

Unlike many desktop PCs, the Surface Studio supports Microsoft's Modern Standby (formerly known as InstantGo) specification, enabling background tasks to operate while the computer is sleeping. A firmware update was released in April 2017 that enabled Cortana to be summoned via a "Hey, Cortana" voice command from sleep, provided the Studio is running the Creators Update. [10]

Surface Studio Configuration Options [11]
Price Tier (USD)CPUIntegrated GPURAMInternal Storage
2,999Intel Core i5-6440HQ (2.6 to 3.5 GHz)GTX 965M8 GB1 TB SATA II HDD + 64GB SATA SSD
3,499Intel Core i7-6820HQ (2.7 to 3.6 GHz)16 GB1 TB SATA II HDD + 128GB NVMe SSD
4,199GTX 980M32 GB2 TB SATA III HDD + 128GB NVMe SSD

Accessories

Microsoft specially designed its Surface Mouse and Surface Keyboard to work with the Surface Studio. It is also compatible with the Surface Pen and a newly created accessory, the Surface Dial. The latter consists of a round disk that can be placed on the display and rotated to perform various actions, such as scrolling, zooming, adjusting the volume, among others, with precision. Developers can utilize its APIs to integrate its functionality into their own products.

Reception

The Surface Studio received generally positive reviews from technology critics. Many praised the large high resolution display, with Tom Warren of The Verge calling it "truly one of the best desktop monitors I’ve ever used". [12] There was also praise for the design and build quality. Criticisms included the high entry price of the device, the all rear-facing I/O ports and the use of last generation Intel CPUs and Nvidia GPUs. [13]

Timeline

Timeline of Surface devices
Surface Duo 2Surface DuoSurface Hub 3Surface Hub 2SSurface HubSurface Studio 2Surface Studio 2Surface StudioSurface Laptop SESurface Laptop Studio 2Surface Laptop StudioSurface Laptop Go 3Surface Laptop Go 2Surface Laptop GoSurface Laptop (7th generation)Surface Laptop 6Surface Laptop 5Surface Laptop 4Surface Laptop 3Surface Laptop 2Surface LaptopSurface Book 3Surface Book 2Surface BookSurface Pro XSurface Pro XSurface Go 4Surface Go 3Surface Go 2Surface GoSurface Pro (11th generation)Surface Pro 10Surface Pro 9Surface Pro 8Surface Pro 7Surface Pro 7Surface Pro 6Surface Pro (2017)Surface Pro 4Surface Pro 3Surface Pro 2Surface ProSurface 3Surface 2Surface (2012 tablet)Surface Studio

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References

  1. "Microsoft Surface Studio Processor Specification Revealed". Surface Tip. October 29, 2016. pp. Eyota, Karry. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  2. "Intel® Core™ i5-6440HQ Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.50 GHz) Specifications". Intel Corporation. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  3. "Intel® Core™ i7-6820HQ Processor (8M Cache, up to 3.60 GHz) Specifications". Intel Corporation. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  4. Warren, Tom (November 29, 2016). "Surface Studio teardown reveals hidden ARM chip and removable hard drive". The Verge. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  5. "Microsoft Surface Studio Teardown". iFixit. November 29, 2016. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  6. Welch, Chris (October 26, 2016). "Microsoft Surface Studio PC announced for $2,999, coming this holiday". The Verge. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  7. "Ultra-thin, pixel-dense Surface Studio touchscreen PC will start at $2,999". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  8. Foley, Mary Jo. "Microsoft's Surface Studio: The newest member of Microsoft's device family". ZDNet. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  9. "Microsoft Surface Studio | Tech Sepcs". Microsoft. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  10. Weir, Andy (April 20, 2017). "New Surface Studio update brings "Hey Cortana" Wake on Voice support from Modern Standby". Neowin. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  11. Microsoft Surface Studio tech specs
  12. Warren, Tom (November 17, 2016). "Microsoft Surface Studio review: a beautiful invader of Apple's base". The Verge. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  13. Lee, Kevin. "Microsoft Surface Studio review". TechRadar. Retrieved April 21, 2017.