Today, Microsoft announced the Windows 10 Creators Update and introduced the Surface Studio, Surface Dial, a new Surface Book, and also announced affordable VR headsets. Microsoft unviled all new Surface device, designed for creators and professionals.

Surface Studio turns your desk into a creative studio. It is a new class of device that transforms from a desktop PC into a digital canvas. With a 4.5k ultra HD screen, Surface Studio delivers 63% more pixels than a 4K TV. Surface Studio works with pen, touch, and the new Surface Dial.

The 28-inch PixelSense Display features 13.5 million pixels of color, and the Zero Gravity Hinge allows the screen to adjust to each stage of the creative process. When the screen transitions from Desktop Mode to Studio Mode, it sits at a 20-degree angle, the same angle as a standard drafting board.

The Surface Studio is powered by 6th Generation Intel Core processors accelerated by a discrete NVIDIA GeForce GPU.

Surface Studio starts at $2,999 estimated retail price (ERP) USD. It is available for pre-order today in the U.S. through Microsoft Stores, MicrosoftStore.com and BestBuy.com, and will begin shipping in limited quantities this holiday with broader availability in early 2017.

Surface Dial is a new input device designed for the creative process, enabling you to work with both of your hands. It integrates with Windows 10 to work with any Surface device for a faster way to scroll, zoom, and navigate.

When you place the Dial directly on the screen, it brings up a set of digital tools specific to the app that is open. For example, with Surface Dial, artists can change the color or the size of their brush tip as they paint without ever moving the pen away from the screen.

Surface Dial is available for pre-order today in the U.S. through Microsoft Stores, MicrosoftStore.com, select Best Buy locations and at BestBuy.com, and will be available for $99 ERP USD starting Nov. 10.

Microsoft also introduced Surface Book with Performance Base, making the most powerful laptop in its class. The three new Surface Book models feature 6th Generation Intel Core i7 processors and pack more than twice the graphics processing power as the original Surface Book. Plus Surface Book with Performance Base brings 16 hours of battery life into the same design. With Surface Book with Performance Base, engineers can spin 3-D CAD models with thousands of parts, designers and developers can render large files quickly, and gamers can play more of their favorite games.

Surface Book with Performance Base starts at $2,399 ERP USD. It is available for preorder today at Microsoft Stores,4 MicrosoftStore.com and select retailers in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and is available starting Nov. 10.

 

Coming as a free update early next year to devices running Windows 10 and available to Windows Insiders this week, the Creators Update will bring 3D and mixed reality to everyone, empower every gamer to be a broadcaster and connect people faster.

With the Creators Update, Windows 10 users will turn on their laptop and be able to start capturing in 3D, printing in 3D, creating in 3D, sharing in 3D, and experiencing mixed reality.

With more than 100 million monthly users, Paint is one of the most popular creation tools today, and with Paint 3D, anyone can now create and build 3D objects. Microsoft also unveiled Remix 3D, a online community to connect creators and creations around the world and bring 3D content to the masses. Trimble’s 3D modelling program SketchUp - and their millions of creators and creations from 3D Warehouse will be part of Remix3D.com. Office will be adding native support for 3D content next year.

To further demonstrate the possibilities of 3-D in Windows 10, Microsoft showed how to use your phone to capture a real-world object in 3-D — like a sand castle from your family vacation - to save, personalize and share as a 3-D memory or photo. To bring your ideas to life, Microsoft is also adding support for 3-D in Word, Excel and PowerPoint over the next year, which means with the Windows 10 Creators Update, Office features will work with 3-D models.

Microsoft announced that HP, Lenovo, Dell, Acer and ASUS will ship the first VR headsets capable of mixed reality through the Creators Update. Coming in 2017, these accessories will contain built-in sensors to enable inside-out, six-degrees of freedom for simplified setup and to more easily move around your home as you experience virtual worlds -no markers required.

Less powerful VR accessories today start at over $500 ERP USD. With the Windows 10 Creators Update, the new VR accessories will work with affordable laptops and PCs and start at just $299 ERP USD.

Despite the relatively low price, the upcoming headsets may have a big advantage over HTC and Valve’s Vive and Facebook’s Oculus Rift: no need for separate calibration hardware to function.

The new "accessories" seem to function similarly to the HoloLens by reading a user’s hand gestures without the need for external controllers like those used by the Vive and Oculus Rift.

Whether the technology can match the precision of the Vive and Oculus Rift is still to be determined but the price is certainly going to lift consumer eyebrows.

The Valve-designed and HTC-built Vive and Facebook’s Oculus Rift with its Touch controllers each cost $800.

The Creators Update will include Beam system integration on Xbox One and Windows 10 for interactive broadcasting and viewing of gameplay on Xbox Live, with even more features yet to be announced. And with interactive broadcasting, you don’t just watch your favorite streamer play, you interact in real time right along with them.

The Creators Update will also bring the power of user-generated tournaments via Arena on Xbox Live, where anyone can define the rules of competition, invite friends and track tournament progress seamlessly across devices, whether it’s on Windows 10 or Xbox One.

Plus, with a Windows 10 gaming PC, you’re able to play games like "Forza Horizon 3," "Gears of War 4" and more in 4K.

With the Creators Update, Microsoft is placing people at the center of your Windows experience. Your most important friends, family, and co-workers will be instantly accessible. With Windows MyPeople, you can pin your favorite contacts to the Windows task bar and easily drag and drop any document, photo or video right on top of the contact for easy sharing. You can receive unique notifications, Shoulder Taps, and view and open emails, IMs, shared documents and more, all in one place. The Windows MyPeople experience is also integrated across universal Windows apps for easy sharing.

Specifications

Surface Studio

• Display:
  • Screen: 28" PixelSense Display
  • Resolution: 4500 x 3000 (192 DPI)
  • Color settings: Adobe sRGB, DCI-P3 and Vivid Color Profiles, Individually color calibrated
  • Touch: 10-point multi-touch
  • Aspect Ratio: 3:2
  • Surface Pen
  • Zero Gravity Hinge
• Processor: Quad-core 6th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M 2GB GPU GDDR5 memory or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M 4GB GPU GDDR5 memory
• Storage:
  • Rapid hybrid drive options: 1TB or 2TB
  • Memory: 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB RAM
• Wireless:
  • Wi-Fi: 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n compatible
  • Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology
  • Xbox Wireless built-in
• Dimensions and weight:
  • Display: 25.09 x 17.27 x 0.44 in (637.35 x 438.90 x 11.4 mm)
  • Base: 9.84 x 8.66 x 1.26 in (250.00 x 220.00 x 32.20 mm)
  • Weight: 21.07 lbs max (9.56 kg)
• Connections and expansions:
  • 4 USB 3.0
  • Full-size SD card reader (SDXC compatible)
  • Mini Displayport
  • 3.5mm headset jack
  • Compatible with Surface Dial onscreen interaction
• Cameras:
  • Windows Hello face sign-in camera
  • 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video
• Audio:
  • Dual microphones
  • Stereo 2.1 speakers with Dolby Audio Premium
  • 3.5mm headset jack
• Buttons and keyboard:
  • Physical buttons: Volume and power
  • Surface Pen
  • Surface Keyboard
  • Surface Mouse
• Security:
  • TPM chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in

Surface book with performance base

• Software:
  • Windows 10 Pro
  • Office 365 30-day trial
• Exterior:
  • Casing: Magnesium
  • Color: Silver
  • Physical buttons: Volume, Power
• Dimensions:
  • 12.30": x 9.14": x 0.51 - 0.90" (312.3mm x 232.1mm x 13.0 - 22.8mm)
  • Weight: Starting at 3.63lbs (1,647g) including keyboard
• Storage: Solid state drive (SSD) options: 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB
• Display:
  • Screen: 13.5" PixelSense Display
  • Resolution: 3000 x 2000 (267 PPI)
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Touch: 10 point multi-touch
• Battery Life: Up to 16 hours of video playback
• Processor: 6th Gen Intel Core i7
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M 2GB GDDR5 memory
• Security: TPM chip for enterprise security
• Memory: 8GB or 16GB RAM
• Wireless:
  • 802.11ac Wi-Fi wireless networking; IEEE
  • 802.11a/b/g/n compatible
  • Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology
• Ports:
  • Two full-size USB 3.0
  • Full-size SD card reader
  • Surface Connect
  • Headset jack
  • Mini Displayport
• Cameras, video and audio:
  • Windows Hello face sign-in camera (front-facing)
  • 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video
  • 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video
  • Stereo microphones
  • Stereo speakers with Dolby audio Audio Premium
• Sensors:
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetometer
• Warranty: 1-year limited hardware warranty