The Microsoft Surface Studio 2+ was the biggest revelation of the Microsoft Surface event on October 12. I say this not only because of the massive size of the all-in-one computer, but also because we haven’t seen a new Studio device since 2018’s Surface Studio 2. Despite the four-year gap, the new Surface Studio’s design remains largely unchanged. However, updated internal components make this a more powerful all-in-one than previous models.
The Surface Studio 2+ is designed to be a creative’s playground, with a 28-inch 4K+ (4,500 x 3,000) touchscreen as well as an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 laptop GPU. Furthermore, it appears that Microsoft includes a Surface Pen stylus in the box, which is essential for a creative tool like this.
Price
The Microsoft Surface Studio 2+ will be available for $4,299 starting on October 25. You get a 28-inch screen, an Intel Core i7-11370H processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 laptop GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage for that price.
Design
The Surface Studio 2+ is nearly identical to previous generations of Microsoft’s all-in-one computer. This isn’t a bad thing because the design is extremely refined. It’s only fitting that an all-in-one that can be used to create art is also a work of art in its own right. Images do not do justice to this machine. It’s a design marvel. The 28-inch touch-screen panel is supported by a “zero gravity hinge,” according to Microsoft. What’s great about this spring-assisted, dual-hinge stand is that it allows you to position the screen upright for traditional desktop use or lower it completely for more comfortable use of the stylus and touch screen. The latter is particularly useful for artists because it can be positioned similarly to a drafting table. All of the PC components of the Surface Studio 2+ are contained in the stand’s base.
Ports
The Surface Studio 2+ has numerous ports that should meet all of your requirements. Three Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an Ethernet port are included. We expressed our dissatisfaction with port placement in Surface Studio 2. With all of the ports on the back of the machine and the unusual curved surface on that back panel, the Surface Studio’s ports were difficult to reach and made blindly plugging things in more difficult than usual. The desktop I checked out only had a power cable coming out of the back, and it would have been impolite of me to plug something into one of the event’s available ports. As a result, I can’t say whether it’s difficult to plug cables into the ports.
Display
The Surface Studio 2+ has a 28-inch PixelSense display with a 3:2 aspect ratio and a resolution of 4500 x 3000. A screen of that size demands your full attention. The model on display only displayed the standard Windows 11 desktop, but I can only assume how impressive streaming content will look on such a large screen.
As previously stated, each display is colour calibrated before shipping, ensuring that display quality is optimal right out of the box. The built-in colour modes are optimised for sRGB, DCI-P3, and Vivid. The previous model did not support true HDR. It’s unclear whether the Surface Studio 2+ supports true HDR, but it should be possible to connect a secondary display (via USB-C) that supports HDR video. I wrote on the screen with a stylus pen and found the process to be relatively easy. I say relatively because writing on a screen is still foreign to me. Despite my issues with digital writing, I’m sure professional artists will appreciate the large screen.
Performance
The Surface Studio 2+ is equipped with an 11th generation Intel Core i7-11370H CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 laptop GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The Surface Studio 2+, according to Microsoft, has up to 50% faster CPU speed than the Surface Studio 2 and therefore is five times more powerful than the original Studio. According to Microsoft, the new all-in-one has twice the graphics performance of the Surface Studio 2.
I have no doubt that the new Surface Studio 2+ is more powerful than its predecessors. After all, the Surface Studio 2+ is powered by an 11th generation Intel Core CPU, which should outperform the Surface Studio 2’s 7th generation Intel processor. Having said that, it’s still surprising that a brand-new machine released in 2022 comes with a CPU that’s a generation old or two generations old if you include the upcoming 13th generation Intel Core Raptor Lake processors.
Since the release of the RTX 40-series, the RTX 3060 has become a last-generation GPU. However, I believe Nvidia’s latest graphics cards will become commonplace in Windows PCs very soon. We’ll run the Surface Studio 2+ through our battery of benchmark tests to see if its out-of-date internals are negatively impacting its performance.
Outlook
The Microsoft Surface Studio 2+ shares many of the features that helped propel the previous models to the top of our best all-in-one and best computers lists. The massive 28-inch screen is quite a sight to behold, and the zero gravity hinge makes positioning the Surface Studio’s screen extremely simple. Whether you intend to use the Surface Studio 2+ for regular computing or to bring your artistic creations to life, it has the makings of a solid device.
Despite its advantages, I have some reservations about the Surface Studio 2+. The main thing that worries me is the computer’s performance due to its outdated specifications. Perhaps it is powerful enough for its intended purpose, but as a tech nerd, I can’t help but raise an eyebrow when I see what this machine is capable of. And the fact that the entire package costs $4,299 makes me even more suspicious.
