$ 3000. This is the amount you need (at a minimum) to spend in order to provide you the machine that has come forward with Microsoft in New York. This is more than the most expensive iMac. But we were able to play a few hours with, and it is clear that it is also a computer to be more innovative than those proposed by Apple.
first, there is the design. How to make an all-in-one that does monkey not completely the wonderful machine of Cupertino ? Microsoft has, we believe, succeeded in this challenge : incorporating all the intelligence in the base of the machine, he manages not only to make the Surface Studio a PC stylish, but also to refine the maximum of its slab 28 inches, which is presented as ” the higher end LCD monitors on the market “.
The set is particularly successful, and responds to the canons of industrial design. The Studio is less round, less sensual than an iMac, but that computer emanates a feeling of strength and quiet power, supported from the first grip. The slab, yet heavy, leans a finger, as if she weighed nothing. The hinges that support it are as aesthetically pleasing as solid. And the base is so unobtrusive that you forget it very quickly as it is absorbed by the huge screen.
about screen, Brian Hall, Microsoft vice president in charge of Surface, has not the emphasis in his pocket. Has an opportunity for an interview, he said that the Studio had, according to him, ” of the screen, the more dazzling that has been designed up to now “. It is true that the figures are impressive : 28-inch, definition of 4500 by 3000 pixels, or a resolution of 192 dpi… That’s less than the iMac 5K (up to 218 dpi), but, to tell the truth, it is impossible to notice with the naked eye. The Studio is just gorgeous. And we appreciate the ratio 3:2, adapted to the needs of the creative… But most of all, his difference, is that it is touch-sensitive and adapted to work with the pen. It can tilt up to an angle of 20 degrees to work with, just as you would on a drawing board. And it works superbly well : one has the impression to have on hand a huge sheet of paper ; the pen (supplied with the camera, phew !) obeys the finger and the eye and you can really work with precision on the screen.
To complete his conquest of the creative, Microsoft has also integrated a technology called True Color – notably developed by Abhijit Sarkar, a former Technicolor, which made his classes in Nantes. She lets go of the sRGB color space in the DCI-P3 on the fly. Ideal for image professionals who want to know the rendering of their content on different monitors.
Surface Dial, a companion almost indispensable
We loved Surface Dial, that we will not fail to put it in the hands of graphic designers to tell us what they think. This accessory, which will be compatible with all Windows-based computers 10, is presented as the ideal companion for those who create with the Surface Studio. It is a Bluetooth device (battery-operated, and sold separately), which offers an additional interface to access the main functions of their favorite software. And it is far from the gadget : Dial acts as a wheel, lined with a button to press, which can have a thousand uses. For example, by turning the dial, you can cancel or return to its previous modifications, change the color or thickness of his brushstrokes, forward or backward in a Powerpoint presentation…
Although it is compatible with the Surface and Surface Pro, it does everything its salt with Surface Studio. If you place it on the screen, it is integrated to the interface of the application. A pie menu appears around the craft. You can therefore use it as a ui element, you don’t have to go through the menus traditional to change tool, color, line width… This is particularly handy on a screen this big. To use, it’s pretty magical, or even futuristic : Dial reacts to your every demands of a light haptic feedback, and it is done very quickly to this new way of interacting with the computer. Very well seen.
innovation, it pays for itself… expensive
Microsoft has made its Studio a PC exception. This is seen also in the components selected to turn the machine. A Core i5 processor and 8 Gb of Ram are the part for the config' minimum. Just like a hybrid drive of at least 1tb. We can just regret that Microsoft has not – that – selected the all-new Nvidia chips, they are just models of a former generation.
Side connection, we note the presence of four USB 3.0 ports classic (we kindly noted that the USB-C was not used for large thing for the moment), a mini DisplayPort, a jack, a SD card slot and an Ethernet jack. At the front, there is a camera 5 Megapixel, Windows-compatible Hello (biometric identification) and two microphones, a story that Cortana responds to your request on the other end of the room. We have unfortunately not been able to try the latter, as there was noise in the showroom.
Surface Studio is terribly beautiful and effective… Remains the thorny problem of the price and its usefulness to the general public. As a Surface Book, this machine has a tariff so high that it becomes downright elitist. Of as much as $ 3,000, it is the base price : if you want a Core i7, a better graphics card and a bigger hybrid drive, you will need to pay more… $ 4000 !
This PC does not remain about it less, according to Microsoft, a “PC for all”. Evidenced by the numerous machines of the demo who were running Forza Horizon 3, the new racing game, house, on a high-end Studio during the conference. Not 4K, obviously (1920 x 1080 only) and with details in ” medium “. But Redmond has taken this way to remind us that his new machine was not exclusively reserved for the pros. He hopes to see also the power users take over the Studio. But did they really need such a thing ? Not sure at all.
What is important to tell the truth. Microsoft has succeeded, as the last year with Surface Book : is the show as a firm that innovates, that points the way to a market of the personal computer is in crisis. This evening, Apple will announce new computers. It is not known if the brand will update its iMac. But if this is not the case, the current line-up is going to take like a little bit of old…
according To our information, Surface Studio will be available in France in the first quarter of 2017. It is not yet known at what price.
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