Microsoft gets creative with Surface line

Microsoft is encroaching on Apple’s traditional domain, unveiling new computing products targeted at creative professionals.

The company has announced Surface Studio, a new desktop computer with a 28″ 4.5K ultra-HD screen that can be adjusted to a flat angle and interfaced with using touch and electronic pens.

The device also supports Surface Dial, a new cylinder-shaped input device designed to allow designers to change settings mid-stroke.

When the dial is placed directly on the screen, it will open a set of digital tools specific to the app. For example, in graphic design programs the dial can be used to change the colour or size of a brush tip without moving the pen away from the screen.

Microsoft said partners including BlueBeam, Drawboard, Mental Canvas, Siemens PLM Software, Silicon Benders, Smith Micro Software and StaffPad have already optimised their software to use the new Surface Dial.

Microsoft has also announced the latest and most powerful in its Surface Book line of high-end laptops, boasting three times the performance of the high-end Macbook Pro and more than twice the graphics processing power of the original Surface Book.

Along with its new products, Microsoft announced a planned free update to Windows, the Windows 10 Creators Update, that will include a raft of enhancements based around 3D as well as augmented and virtual reality.

New features will include Paint 3D — an easy-to-use 3D art studio, a new contacts app named Windows MyPeople and support for the first VR headsets capable of “mixed reality” from HP, Lenovo, Dell, Acer and ASUS, expected to launch next year.

Surface Studio, Surface Dial and Surface Book are already available for pre-order in the US for US$2999 ($3931), US$99 and US$2399 respectively. The Windows 10 Creators Update will launch in early 2017.

Image courtesy Microsoft.