Mike Wuerthele
Alongside the 28-inch all-in-one Surface Studio PC, Microsoft's new Surface Book i7 announced Wednesday is said to triple the performance of the current high-end 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Surface Studio
The new Surface Studio has a 28-inch display, at 192ppi, containing 13.5 million individual pixels, with Microsoft's TrueColor display technology. Microsoft's TrueColor implements the DCI-P3 color space, the same as Apple's implementation of Wide Color on the iPhone 7 and the iMac 5K.
Physically, the Surface Studio can tilt to vertical down to about 25 degrees above flat, for use as a drawing surface.
Other features of the Surface Studio include a quad-core Skylake sixth-generation Intel processor, an Nvidia 980M GPU, a 2 TB hybrid hard drive, Mini DisplayPort, 32GB of RAM, implementation of the Xbox wireless protocol for game controllers, and 2.1-channel surround sound speakers. The base of the Surface Studio contains an SD card reader, four USB 3.0 ports, and Gigabit Ethernet.
The computer comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse. Additionally, a new Surface Dial wireless input device is included with the computer with haptic feedback provided to the user through the wheel itself. The Surface Dial is recognized by the screen on the Surface Studio — and recent Surface and Surface Book products — with contextual app-relevant notifications provided to the user after contact with the screen.
The Surface Dial is also available as a separate purchase for older devices.
The Surface Studio can be pre-ordered today — demonstration units will be at Microsoft Stores on Thursday. Prices begin at $2,999 for an i5 Processor with 8 GB of RAM. The configuration demonstrated at the Microsoft event, with 32GB of RAM and a quad-core i7 processor, will sell for $4,199.
Only "limited quantities" will be available before 2016 ends.
Surface Book i7
The company claims that the new Surface Book i7 has up to 16 hours of battery life. The older Surface Book models remain unchanged.
The unit is also said to have double the graphical performance of the older Surface Books that remain on sale, and Microsoft made a point to mention that it was three times faster than the high-end 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2015. No comparison was drawn to the high-end, but still dated, 15-inch MacBook Pro that has a more similar price to the Surface Book i7.
Specific technical details of the Surface Book i7 are not yet known.
Pre-orders for the Surface Book i7 begin now, with a November availability, and a retail price of $2399.
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198 Comments
Out of all days they decide to announce an iMac clone the day before Apple special event. Coincidence?
Hate to say it, but I can imagine there will be a lot of interest for that large screen Surface for illustrators, designers and possibly even musicians.
Give me a break. It's just another PC with "Surface" name slapped over it. Lame.
Update: after watching the video, uh.... not bad.
These computers may be remarkable and have ridiculous prices, but every time I walk by the Microsoft Store in the mall, it's empty.
hahahaha....I have been an Apple enthusiast for a decade....but cmon....stop being fanboys...This looks like a great product. MS taking a bite out of Apple's share of the designers......This is good for the industry.....