Microsoft has been making waves today. Thin, stylish waves. This is the Microsoft Surface Studio all-in-one PC.

Microsoft has announced an all-in-one Surface-branded PC called Surface Studio.

It is remarkably thin, remarkably stylish and, as I am sure you have already guessed, remarkably not cheap.

The Surface Studio is based around a 28-inch PixelSense touchscreen with a 3:2 aspect ratio.

Microsoft says that the LCD monitor is the thinnest ever built at only 12.5mm. Not only that, it boasts that the 4500×3000 resolution display packs 13.5 million pixels at 192 pixels per inch. This is 63% more than a 4K TV.

The display is TrueColor. As Microsoft explains it, they wanted it to render “the deepest reds possible”.

Microsoft has also built true scale into the Studio. This means that drawing a one inch line on the screen is 1-inch in real life. No more needing to print-preview your documents.

The Surface Studio has a forged aluminium enclosure and chrome arms, which Microsoft said “completely fade into the background”.

Causing a draft

Pushing down on the Surface Studio brings in to play its zero-gravity hinge. This enables it to angle at 20-degrees and effectively turning it into a drafting/draughting surface.

Since Surface Studio, like other Surface computers, uses a Windows 10 touch-display it supports 10 point multi-touch. You can also draw or write directly on the screen using a special Surface Pen. It boasts 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity plus an eraser.

Surface Dial

Microsoft has also unveiled a hockey-puck shaped accessory called Surface Dial along with Surface Studio itself.

You can rotate the puck to summon tools and zoom in on and manipulate objects on the screen. It can be spun to carry out functions such as skimming through colours, adjusting the volume or flipping through pages.

It provides vibration-based feedback as it is used. And when placed on the screen, it brings up a graphical interface within compatible software, providing the user with a new way to select from commands.

It’ll work with other Surface devices beyond Surface Studio but you’ll have to purchase it separately, even for Surface Studio. It will cost $99 or ship free with preorders.

Surface Studio specs

This lovely desktop PC packs a sixth-gen Intel i5/i7 Core processor, a 4GB Nvidia GeForce GPU, up to 32GB of RAM and a 2TB hard drive.

You also get four USB 3.0 jacks, a Mini DisplayPort, an SD card slot, headphone jack, and an Ethernet port.

Other hardware announced

Microsoft will also be selling virtual reality headgear starting at $299, via PC partners Dell, Lenovo, HP, Acer and Asus, though details remain vague.

It seems kind of like a cross between what Google is bringing out with its Daydream headsets and the higher end VR headgear such as Oculus Rift. It will plug into a PC. No precise word on timing.

Surface Studio price and availability

The thin aluminum 28-inch Surface Studio desktop PC starts at $2,999, and goes on up to $4,199. It’s available for pre-order right now.

Also coming shortly is a new souped-up version of the company’s Surface Book laptop, coming next month for $2,399.