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The world has waited quite some time for this one: the Surface Studio 2 is here at last, and it’s improved in almost every way. Now, those improvements may not be on par with a lot of today’s professional all-in-one computers, but they do wonders for the Surface Studio 2’s core use case.

If you already own the original Surface Studio, you may want to seriously consider the sequel. The parts in the original are only going to grow longer in the tooth by the day, and we see what’s inside this model lasting a much longer time. If you’re new to the Surface family, just be certain of whether this computer will fulfill your use case (digital media artists only need apply), before committing so much cash.

Price and availability

The Surface Studio 2 calls for a kingly sum of $3,499 or AU$5,499 (about £2,680) – and that’s just to start. (Sadly, Surface Studio 2 isn’t yet available in the UK.)This will get you a 7th-generation – nope, not a typo – Intel Core i7 processor designed for laptops and powered by Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060(6GB GDDR5) graphics, 16GB of DDR4 memory and a 1TB NVMe SSD. Yes, the hybrid drives are gone.

Design and display

This may come as music to your ears or a total disappointment, but absolutely nothing has changed about the Surface Studio in its physical design over the previous model. Even the included wireless keyboard and mouse are identical to the original model.That said, Microsoft took the opportunity to upgrade the Surface Studio display with this revision. The screen has been given quite a boost in the brightness and contrast departments by 38% (515 nits) and 22% (1,200:1), respectively.

We have to admit that the increased brightness and contrast ratio don’t do a ton for us personally, but we imagine it should make content that much more visible and workable for creators. The increased brightness can bring out enhanced detail, meanwhile, the boosted contrast will drive deeper blacks and lighter whites, and in turn produce more color depth.

Performance

The parts inside the Surface Studio 2, on paper, look like peanuts compared to the latest processors and graphics cards available in similarly-priced desktop computers. However, none of those computers double as a high-resolution drafting table.

Microsoft’s unique positioning for Surface Studio 2 put this computer into almost a whole category unto itself, however what’s inside will be capable of basically all modern computing tasks regardless. Just don’t expect to be able to quickly encode 4K video, or drive the latest games at native resolution, with this machine.

Now, Microsoft may have included its Xbox Wireless connectivity protocol for its Xbox One controllers, and this PC may have the capability to play many of the latest games at decent settings, but this is not a gaming PC. We wouldn’t even remotely consider gaming to be a concern in purchasing this machine.

Final verdict

The Surface Studio 2 absolutely does what it ultimately sets out to do: improve upon the previous model in every way necessary. This version is faster, brighter and with more vibrant color than before, changing nothing that didn’t need to be changed.

That said, this computer will absolutely look like an overpriced heap when stacked up against rivals, like the Apple iMac Pro, on paper. These spec-for-spec comparisons simply cannot capture the complete value found within Surface Studio 2 … because of its unique use case as one of the world’s best digital drafting tables.

For the digital artist out there looking to upgrade from the original model, this one is a no-brainer. For newcomers, this model seems far more prepared to weather the endless silicon improvements and upgrades, with even stronger support for 4K content creation and the latest accessories via USB-C.

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