Microsoft Surface Studio 2: Photos, specs, and details

The Microsoft Surface Studio 2 can fold down into
“studio mode,” letting you draw and sketch right on its big,
beautiful screen. The Surface Dial, seen on the right, is an
optional accessory that’s sold separately.
Microsoft

• Meet the Microsoft Surface Studio 2: a big, beautiful,
  all-in-one PC that will be available on November 15th at a
  starting price of $3,499. 
• Like the original, it can fold down into “studio mode,”
  so you can draw and sketch on the screen.
• New to this model: a brighter screen with better
  contrast, plus updated graphical hardware and newer
  processors. 

Microsoft’s first-ever desktop PC is getting a big upgrade. 

Introducing the powerful Surface Studio 2, a mega-premium,
all-in-one Windows 10 PC that will be available on November 15th
for the mega-premium starting price of $3,499.  

Like the original Surface Studio, which launched in late 2016,
this new model comes with a 28-inch touchscreen that can swivel
down into “studio mode,” letting you sketch and mark up documents
right on your desk. If you’ve ever used a Surface Studio, you
know that it’s smooth and weirdly addictive to raise the screen
up and back down again.

The Surface Studio 2 is much the same, but better and brighter —
literally. Microsoft claims the new screen has “38 percent higher
luminance and 22 percent more contrast” than that in the original
Surface Studio. 

Under the hood, Microsoft says that the Surface Studio 2 is 50%
faster than the original at file processing, thanks to new
solid-state hard drives, plus more up-to-date Intel processors.

Also, depending on which model Surface Studio 2 you buy, you’ll
get NVIDIA GeForce GTXl 1060 or 1070 graphics hardware. It’s
not a dedicated gaming machine by any means, but the Surface
Studio 2 can make a reasonable go at playing just about any
recent-release PC game at high graphics settings. 

Originally pitched as a super-powerful machine for creative
professionals, the original Surface Studio was said to be
something of a surprise hit — it sported a hefty $3,000 pricetag,
but
reportedly blew away Microsoft’s internal projections. At a
higher starting price tag of $3,500, it’ll be interesting to see
if Surface Studio 2 can repeat the trick.

Also of note: The original Surface Studio could have been helped
along by a perceived weakness with Apple’s iMac, the Cupertino
titan’s own all-in-one PC, which in 2016 hadn’t seen a
significant update in some while. This time, though, the Surface
Studio will face stiffer competition — last year,
Apple released a more powerful iMac Pro, and the
rumor mill suggests the original iMac will get an update this
year, too. 

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