Microsoft Surface Studio - More than just an All-in-One
Today at the Microsoft Fall Hardware event we got introduced to the Surface Studio All-in-One (AIO) device previously code named Cardinal.
In a post back about a month ago called "Will the Cardinal Fly" - I speculated like many about what this device may be, what kind of models would be available along with some opinions on whether this new device would really move the needle on Surface Sales..
Being the owner of a touch based AIO, to be honest I was a bit skeptical about what MS was going to announce and how it may change the game in the space. While I had always felt the value in AIO was the reduced footprint vs a traditional PC, I had never seen a lot of value in the touch interface. And even as new models came forward with larger screens and tilt flat capabilities, to be honest I rarely used it.
With the Surface Studio, MS has really redefined the platform.
First let's discuss the basics. The Surface Studio utilizes a base + tilt screen layout, with the latest Intel Core i5 & i7 CPU, 8 - 32Gb of RAM, Nvidia 980M GPU with 2 or 4GB and 1 or 2TB Hybrid Drives.
The Pixel Sense screen is huge at 28" diagonal measurement with 4.5K resolution and the entire panel is only 12.5mm thick. Keeping with the Surface Book theme this is certainly a premium device and the $3000 - $4200 price range confirms that.
In addition to all the CPU and Graphics prowess, MS added one more innovative wrinkle - The Surface Dial. This $99 accessory is a haptic feedback dial. It can be used on the desktop or placed directly on the screen where it immediately provides a context sensitive menu that allow you to dial up options for the app you just placed the dial on. Pretty slick.
There is the obligatory Windows Hello and Cortana support as well as XBox Controller support - you can play games directly on the device and use your existing wireless controllers.
Finally there is the tilt capability. MS called it zero gravity, but versus what was previously available you can easily lower and raise the screen with one finger and actually lean on it and write using the included pen.
All in all the Surface Studio is an impressive piece of hardware and with all the Ink improvements coming in Redstone 2 (Now called the Creators Update) really changes the way you interact with this device.
MS has really been playing up the touch and pen support on all of the Surface line as a market differentiator from Apple. They even demo'd new Ink integrations with Office.
But for me the question is two fold.
First, while the hardware is impressive, the price is also in my opinion excessive. At $4,199 for the top of the line model it is nearly double the price of the top of line iMac which sells for $2,299. There were quite a few groans from some of the enthusiast sites regarding the price.
Second - How well are people going to warm to Windows Hello, Surface Dial and Ink ? Will those new capabilities really drive sales ?
To me this is the challenge of Windows 10 and the Surface line. MS is working to redefine the PC and how you interact with it. I am concerned that it may be some time before folks really transition to using Ink/Touch/Haptics/Hello and Cortana as primary interaction methods. So like my 7 year Touch AIO will really not use those features and so not be willing to pay the premium.
Bottom line is this. MS announced the Surface Studio AIO and the very cool Surface Dial. While an impressive piece of hardware, it comes with a very high price tag that many potential customers will not pay the premium for. It is also focused on yet to come capabilities of the new Windows 10 Creators Update. I don't expect to see huge sales numbers. It will be interesting to see how the major OEMs like HP, Dell, Lenovo and others react to this between now and the Creators Update release.
In a post back about a month ago called "Will the Cardinal Fly" - I speculated like many about what this device may be, what kind of models would be available along with some opinions on whether this new device would really move the needle on Surface Sales..
Being the owner of a touch based AIO, to be honest I was a bit skeptical about what MS was going to announce and how it may change the game in the space. While I had always felt the value in AIO was the reduced footprint vs a traditional PC, I had never seen a lot of value in the touch interface. And even as new models came forward with larger screens and tilt flat capabilities, to be honest I rarely used it.
With the Surface Studio, MS has really redefined the platform.
First let's discuss the basics. The Surface Studio utilizes a base + tilt screen layout, with the latest Intel Core i5 & i7 CPU, 8 - 32Gb of RAM, Nvidia 980M GPU with 2 or 4GB and 1 or 2TB Hybrid Drives.
The Pixel Sense screen is huge at 28" diagonal measurement with 4.5K resolution and the entire panel is only 12.5mm thick. Keeping with the Surface Book theme this is certainly a premium device and the $3000 - $4200 price range confirms that.
In addition to all the CPU and Graphics prowess, MS added one more innovative wrinkle - The Surface Dial. This $99 accessory is a haptic feedback dial. It can be used on the desktop or placed directly on the screen where it immediately provides a context sensitive menu that allow you to dial up options for the app you just placed the dial on. Pretty slick.
There is the obligatory Windows Hello and Cortana support as well as XBox Controller support - you can play games directly on the device and use your existing wireless controllers.
Finally there is the tilt capability. MS called it zero gravity, but versus what was previously available you can easily lower and raise the screen with one finger and actually lean on it and write using the included pen.
All in all the Surface Studio is an impressive piece of hardware and with all the Ink improvements coming in Redstone 2 (Now called the Creators Update) really changes the way you interact with this device.
MS has really been playing up the touch and pen support on all of the Surface line as a market differentiator from Apple. They even demo'd new Ink integrations with Office.
But for me the question is two fold.
First, while the hardware is impressive, the price is also in my opinion excessive. At $4,199 for the top of the line model it is nearly double the price of the top of line iMac which sells for $2,299. There were quite a few groans from some of the enthusiast sites regarding the price.
Second - How well are people going to warm to Windows Hello, Surface Dial and Ink ? Will those new capabilities really drive sales ?
To me this is the challenge of Windows 10 and the Surface line. MS is working to redefine the PC and how you interact with it. I am concerned that it may be some time before folks really transition to using Ink/Touch/Haptics/Hello and Cortana as primary interaction methods. So like my 7 year Touch AIO will really not use those features and so not be willing to pay the premium.
Bottom line is this. MS announced the Surface Studio AIO and the very cool Surface Dial. While an impressive piece of hardware, it comes with a very high price tag that many potential customers will not pay the premium for. It is also focused on yet to come capabilities of the new Windows 10 Creators Update. I don't expect to see huge sales numbers. It will be interesting to see how the major OEMs like HP, Dell, Lenovo and others react to this between now and the Creators Update release.
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