Microsoft Surface Studio 2+ all-in-one packs more power

The Surface Studio 2+ has landed as a fresh-faced take on Microsoft’s creator-friendly all-in-one desktop, with upgraded internals to better cope with demanding job like 3D rendering and video editing. The fold-down display returns for graphics work, and remote workers will appreciate the upgraded video calling abilities.

Microsoft hasn’t messed with the Surface Studio 2‘s lustworthy looks, or the Zero Gravity hinge that lets you tilt the 28in, 4500×3000 resolution touchscreen, pull it towards you and fold it at an angle to use as a giant graphics tablet with the bundled Surface Pen.

It should be just as vibrant as before, with individually calibrated panels promising sRGB and DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage, support for Dolby Vision, and Gorilla Glass 3 to keep it safe from scratches. Dolby has also given the Atmos seal of approval to the 2.1 speaker system.

The big changes are underneath, with processing muscle provided by an Intel Core i7-11370H (a big step up from the 7th-gen chips found in the outgoing Surface Studio 2) and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 laptop GPU handling the graphics. The latter has 6GB of dedicated video memory, while the main system RAM tops out at 32GB. Microsoft reckons it’s 50% zippier than the Surface Studio 2, and has five times the grunt of the OG model. There’s also a 1TB SSD for storage.

There’s no shortage of ports around the back, with three USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s that’ll do 4K video output as well as rapid data transfers, two USB-As, a 3.5mm headphone port and Gigabit Ethernet. It’s also packing Bluetooth 5.1 and 802.11ax Wi-Fi.

Microsoft has upgraded the front-facing webcam to a 1080p sensor and included Windows Hello facial recognition for quickly skipping the lock screen. Naturally the machine ships with Windows 11 Pro, with the screen optimised for Windows Snap multitasking and digital stylus support.

Right now only US pricing has been confirmed, and the bad news is you’re going to need a sizeable bank balance to take one of these home. The single model (with Core i7-11370H CPU, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD) will cost $4299 (around £3900), a sizeable step up over the outgoing Surface Studio 2. There’s also a $4499 bundle that comes with a Microsoft keyboard, mouse and Surface Pen stylus.

Related: The best power desktops for video editors and other creators

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A tech addict from about the age of three (seriously, he's got the VHS tapes to prove it), Tom's been writing about gadgets, games and everything in between for the past decade, with a slight diversion into the world of automotive in between. As Deputy Editor, Tom keeps the website ticking along, jam-packed with the hottest gadget news and reviews. When he's not on the road attending launch events, you can usually find him scouring the web for the latest news, to feed Stuff readers' insatiable appetite for tech.