MS's Surface Studio is a 1-shot KO on Apple

[ro9ue]

Apple, the long-time producer of the creative professional's go-to tools, has been knocked the fuck out by Microsoft in this past week's product announcements.

Personally speaking, I was a Mac fan for a little over a decade now, but the last few years, Apple appeared to be losing their magic. At the same time, I still was weary of Microsoft, but I had my eye on some of the innovations they've been working on. The versatility of the Surface pro, a tablet you could draw on that could run full professional software like Photoshop, and then the Surface Book, which was a beefed up Surface Pro that allowed the same versatility, but when docked in it's keyboard-base, could actually be a half-decent machine for some moderate gaming even.

Apple just continued to show the same products. Just with slightly higher specs. Nothing on the innovation front. I was on the fence the last few years as I was in the market for my digital sketchbook. Do I purchase the iPad Pro with only iOS apps, high mobility but not the best professional applications and not a great drawing experience? Do I get a Wacom Companion which has a superior drawing experience but lacks a bit of the portability? Or do I get a Surface and get the best of both worlds... but I'd have to convert to MS... a company I didn't really like.

Then I see continued dedication to professional creatives, not from Apple. But from Microsoft.

Trust builds. But still on the fence.


Just as I was about to pull the trigger on possibly an iPad pro and a Cintiq...




Thank you Microsoft, for actually trying to innovate and creating one of the coolest drawing table/pad/screen things I've ever seen. While Apple (and Wacom) decide to rest on their laurels and only create incrementally better products, you appear to be out for blood. You want to change the game.

I'll be buying a Surface Book and the Surface Studio this year. Apple is dead to me.

[Stanislav]

at a price tag of 3k it sure wil be great for playing wow on.

[Independent voter]

That commercial is amazing.

Will the thing run photoshop?

[aviger]

Yeah ive been mac for my photo/video editing forever but the new macbook pro is stupid.
They are so focussed on making things THINNER they forget we have shit to plug into it.
You have to get a dongle that makes it thicker to get your USB things plugged in.
Its stupid.
Im switching it MS

[dacoolist]

You will have to deceide for yourself what works best for you, your business, and your family. Nobody else can decide this for you.

Being in the tech industry has taught me one simple thing: People cry about anything and everything, it's up to you to choose a company that stands by you, and a computer that works the way you want it to.

If you want a chromebook, mac, windows, linux, or a unix computer - get whatever the hell makes you smile. It's time to stop bitching about companies because they aren't giving you a reach around.

[minteK917]

I def gona grab one at work i was not expecting such a device. Im pretty sure im not the only one on my floor alone of the office thats gona beg for one lol.

[dacoolist]

I wanted to add how sexy that surface studio is btw!

[Mihalik]

At the office some of our technical drawing guys have been nagging me to look into this. I'm still not buying them these for at least a year as I got them new Wacom ones this spring. So though fucking luck.

We have a couple of Surface Hubs for presentations and meetings, everyone has a Surface Pro as a carry tablet. And we use PCs for all other work. So yeah, I personally don't need one of these (I actually dislike my Surface Pro and mostly use a upper range Lenovo P50, as I prefer a normal 15 inch laptop over the Surface ones, that I can actually play games on when I'm traveling) and would have bought them for the office, but now the guys are stuck with them Wacoms until the warranty expires.

[kail]

Well that song struck a heart string of mine.

RIP Gene Wilder

[Asiwassaying]

When was apple ever the go to device for productivity? Serious question.

I was under the impression it was more of a lifestyle statement (like being a hipster) than a device to actually get shit done on

[kail]

When was apple ever the go to device for productivity? Serious question.

I was under the impression it was more of a lifestyle statement (like being a hipster) than a device to actually get shit done on

You can get shit done on Apple products, it's just not the cost effective solution (never was and never intended to be).

[Deleted]

When was apple ever the go to device for productivity? Serious question.

I was under the impression it was more of a lifestyle statement (like being a hipster) than a device to actually get shit done on

i always heard that you need a mac in order for people to take you seriously in the design fields. (like regardless of technical specs, it's just a thing somehow apparently)

that said if this thing is successful apple will copy it next year anyways and spin their branding on it to make it "the better choice"

[Eats Compost]

The Studio is one hell of a product. I read someone's post comparing prices on comparable Cintiq screen-only devices for similar sizes/resolutions, and the results came out very far in Microsoft's favor.

This thing's very dangerous to Apple, and I've got no idea how they're going to respond. Between this thing and the Surface Book, Microsoft's really putting the screws on Apple's cut of the professional market.

[teddabear]

I don't think this will be quite the hit it is being made out to to be but I am glad it's out there if for no other reason than to get Apple off their ass. They have been particularly complacent the last couple of years.

[Deleted]

It looks really cool. However it is useless because it runs Windows.

Windows is great for games, but that thing isn't for gamers. For creative professionals its useless because many important apps are OSX only.

That commercial is amazing.

Will the thing run photoshop?

If you are using Photoshop for editing photos, then yep.

If you are using Photoshop for web design, then its time to learn about Sketch. Photoshop is so last century.

[Jester Joe]

If you are using Photoshop for editing photos, then yep.

If you are using Photoshop for web design, then its time to learn about Sketch. Photoshop is so last century.

Pretty sure that's more of what Dreamweaver is for anyway, not Photoshop in the first place.

I'm not sure why, but everyone has this fascination with doing literally everything in Photoshop.

[Deleted]

i always heard that you need a mac in order for people to take you seriously in the design fields. (like regardless of technical specs, it's just a thing somehow apparently)

Yep. There are few reasons for it:

1. Almost all web servers run Linux, so all tools are built for it. OSX is very similar to Linux. Many of those tools can be ran on Windows, but differences are quite big, so no professional would do that. Choice is either Linux or Windows.

2. Until recently difference between third party monitors was massive. Colors weren't precise enough. However Apple displays were well calibrated. Therefore if you cared about color quality you should use Apple. Today its not an issue though.

3. Because of #1 and #2 lots of software was built only for OSX. All software packages needed for design run on OSX. Far not all run on Windows and even those that do run are often bugging because Windows in its core is a piece of shit operating system good only for running games.

- - - Updated - - -

Pretty sure that's more of what Dreamweaver is for anyway, not Photoshop in the first place.

I'm not sure why, but everyone has this fascination with doing literally everything in Photoshop.

Dreamweaver is not for design. Its for creating code for dummies. Its never used by professionals. Photoshop is for editing images.

Sketch is for design. It replaces Photoshop for web and app designers. Its cheaper, light weight, has precision tools that Photoshop lacks, infinite canvas with multiple pages and artboards per document. It was built specifically for user interface design (web design, apps).

[Crispin]

[Sorshen]

Too bad they sticked a GTX 965m in it for that price, like what the fuck. I expected that from Apple, not MS.

[TriHard]

Why does that matter, you're not going to be playing games on it - and there is a 980m version as well.

Exactly. No need for a better graphic card.

I feel the Surface Studio is more Apple than Apple's own products at this point. I am buying this one for my video and music productions as soon as
it is available in Norway.
But I am going to need a apple product for Logic Pro too so gonna have to invest in the new macbook pro as well.