Surface Studio 2+ Wants To Be Your New Workhorse

Microsoft is giving a long-awaited update to the Surface Studio, its all-in-one PC that goes against the likes of Apple's iMac. The updated version — dubbed the Surface Studio 2+ — carries the same looks as its predecessor. While that isn't necessarily a bad thing because the design is still quite impressive with its flexibility, it's the internals that made a massive leap worth a few generations.

The 7th Gen Intel processor powering the Surface Studio 2 has been replaced with the 11th Gen Intel H-series silicon inside the Surface Studio 2+. Microsoft is offering the device in a single configuration powered by the Core i7-i11370H CPU, which packs four cores, eight threads, and offers a boost frequency of 4.80GHz. It's a rather odd choice for a processor, considering the fact that Intel's 12th Gen H-series processors are already out in the market packing up to 14 cores and 20 threads — plus, the 13th Gen Raptor Lake Intel processors have also been announced.

Microsoft

Microsoft claims that the CPU upgrade is still meaningful enough to offer up to a 50% gain in raw performance. On the graphics side of things, Microsoft is replacing the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060/1070 cards on the older model with the GeForce RTX 3060 GPU. The upgraded GPU inside the Surface Studio 2+ packs the next-gen Tensor cores and is touted to be twice as powerful as the one inside its predecessor.

Over at the front is the 28-inch Pixel Sense display offering a resolution of 4,500 x 3000 pixels, which translates to a pixel density of 192 PPI. For the sake of comparison, the M1-powered iMac with its 4.5K retina panel only does slightly better at 218 PPI pixel density. Microsoft claims that the color-calibrated screen on the Surface Studio 2+ covers the DCI-P3 gamut, offers a modest contrast ratio of 1,200:1, supports Dolby Vision content, and is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass 3. The aspect ratio is 3:2, offering a taller profile compared to the usual 16:9 format panels.

Of course, the biggest draw is the flexible hinge, which allows the Surface to transform from a regular monitor format to a large board that rests at a small elevated angle against a table or any horizontal surface. There's 32GB of DDR4 RAM inside and 1TB of storage. Wireless connectivity also gets a small boost thanks to Wi-Fi 6 (802.11 ax) and Bluetooth 5.1 support. The port selection's been reimagined, too. The Surface Studio 2+ offers three USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, a pair of USB-A (version 3.1) ports, a headphone jack, and a Gigabit Ethernet port.

However, Microsoft has nixed the full-sized SDXC card reader this time around. Thankfully, the SSD is replaceable. The camera is also improved, while audio streams are now handled by a pair of far-field mics. Surface Studio 2+ is out in "select markets" on October 25 with a starting price of $4,299.99.