Shame on you, MS, if this report is true. All you did was throw in a new processor and call it a day, when in fact you have a terrific all-in-one design that DESERVES 32" (just KILL the bezels) and the new, much improved, Slim Pen 2…
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MS has had some great design ideas for their surface devices, but follow up and innovative imrpovements of their designs have been few and far between.
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Microsoft seems to be all about making drastic shakeups (for better and for worse) and less about making necessary incremental iterations on current products.
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I have a feeling the Studio 3 is going to disappoint us all
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As a current Studio owner, I’m really curious about several things:
- What kind of ports will this have? USB 3.0? USB-C? Thunderbolt?
- Any kind of dedicated video-out that won’t have me heading for the hills? I’d love to return to a dual monitor set-up if it’s possible.
- How the Gen 11 chips are with thermals compared to the Gen 7s in the same form factor.
- Any chance of a video card that won’t overheat all of the time?
My assumption is that thermal issues will be just as annoying as they are now (I’m constantly clocking 140 degree temps on my video card when I’m on a video call), but maybe the 11th gen chips might mean that I won’t have to struggle so hard with Photoshop. Maybe.
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Not sure if you already could with the SS2, but it seems like there’s about zero chance that the new model wouldn’t support TB4. So whatever they do, an eGPU should at least be an option. 
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Oh, that is heartening to hear! For the SS2, an eGPU isn’t an option. Even just being able to outsource one core function (eGPU or scratch drive) to a different enclosure would seriously cut down on all of the heat damage my SSD’s been taking.
I hadn’t kept up on Intel chipsets beyond Gen 10, so I was floored to see what a difference there was between Gen 12 and Gen 11. I did an average benchmark comparison between the SS2 Gen 7 Chip, and possible Gen 11/Gen 12 chips. The Gen 12 chips posted benchmark numbers that were more than 3 times faster.
Nuts! I am craving that Alder Lake experience. Oops. 
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Given how most of the Surface Line is going Thunderbolt, I think it’s very likely the Studio 3 will have thunderbolt. Hopefully 4 TB4 ports if we are lucky.
But I remember when the Studio 2 came out and it was criticized heavily for not having TB3.
In lieu of a redesign…Microsoft has finally delivered to us…the 2018 Studio we all wanted in 2018.
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A look at the Surface Studio 2+ that accurately sums up my feelings:
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Well… i guess there really is a reason it’s called the Surface Studio 2 plus.
I see absolutely no compelling reason to get rid of my current cintiq pro and laptop combination, for this, at that price.
The wait for Surface Studio 3 continues. see you in a couple of years 
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If any device screamed for 120hz Refresh rate and Slim Pen 2, it is the Studio.
Such a wasted opportunity. And the device is literally using the same 35w quad core CPU in the Laptop Studio. Over the Laptop Studio it just has a slightly better GPU 3050ti vs 3060, and more ports with notably a 3rd thunderbolt 4 port with support up to three 4K monitors. Essentially its the Laptop Studio just connected to a larger screen.
I do feel the naming of it is interesting though. Updating the CPU/Graphics with more recent chips and thunderbolt 4 support is the same refresh the Laptop 5 got, but they didn’t call that the Laptop 4+
I almost feel like this is a stop gate device like the Pro 7+ to test the markets demand for desktop solutions. Hopefully a true Studio 3 will be come out of this, just hopefully not 4+ years later.
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Hope you guys will allow the title edit, just so we don’t disappoint hopeful googlers looking for the actual Surface Studio 3…
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Personally I’m most disappointed with the value proposition. It isn’t so much that the CPU is not 12th gen (although that’s totally unforgivable) but that they didn’t accordingly make this device more affordable. With a bargain-basement CPU couldn’t we at least get a ~$3k price? Here’s hoping the market agrees and MS will be forced to lower the asking price - while not giving up on the product line.
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Too bad SS2 didn’t catch fire in the creative space. As a drawing canvas, I really enjoy it. When I have the coding bug, it’s great screen real estate (same for simultaneous multiple document review). The ability to pair Duo Deux and have several Android apps running in the mix is amazingly productive.
My conundrum is I’d hate to lose the form factor to obsolescence if they drop Studio like Surface Book. Do I capture the 11th gen chip upgrade to gain a few more years, or hope someone produces a comparably sized touch/pen monitor? 
(Please forgive the cross-post)
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In defense of MS, at least they were honest enough to refrain from naming it 3. Maybe the should have called it the Garage Edition? Seems it is something the developers were left to deal with on their spare time.
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If any device screamed for 120hz Refresh rate and Slim Pen 2, it is the Studio.
I had just taken it as given that the next Surface Studio would be compatible with the Slim Pen 2. I am blown away that it isn’t. And it’s something of an equivocal feeling, too. I dislike the flat profile of the Slim Pen/Slim Pen 2. There just ain’t no way that’s comfortable for 5-8 hours of illustrating that I do in a day. My original slim pen got put into a drawer a few months after I bought it, and hasn’t seen the light of day since.
Personally I’m most disappointed with the value proposition.
I’m of two minds about the value proposition.
On the one hand, the i7-11370 is an old chip and it’s not even an old chip that significantly boosts performance, given that the previous chip was 4 years old. The conversations that were being had on the Surface Speculation Thread about 12th gen chips throttling and overheating have convinced me that 12th wasn’t the way to go without any significant redesign. My SS2 has SO MANY problems with the graphics card overheating. I regularly clock 140 degrees on the GTX 1070 when I’m drawing in Photoshop, or making a video call via Discord. It is starting to degrade the performance of my SSD. Add in processor overheating to that too? Woof, the studio would be unusable in short order.
If they needed lower thermals, fine, so be-it. But, I’ve also had this machine and run it for 10-16 hours per day since I purchased it in January 2019. So I feel that keeping a 45W chip in the SS2+ wouldn’t have been a horrendous choice for 11th gen chips. They could have gone with one of the 8-core chips, like the Intel Core i7-11800H, and seen a boost in multi-tasking processing.
Right now, I’m looking for upgrade options next year. Putting those needs together, the list doesn’t seem unreasonable.
Those needs are:
- 24" or larger drawing surface with bezels no wider than my thumb (I grip the side of the monitor as I draw)
- Glass surface for easy disinfecting/de-allergenizing
- low-dust output (mini-computer form factor)
- Comfortable pen
- Low driver issues
- Color-accurate monitor
The Surface Studio 2 was, at the time I bought it, the ONLY computer that fit all of my needs. Now, I might be able to relax some of those needs, like the glass surface or the small-form factor workstation… which would mean the only other option that would fulfill what I need is a Wacom 27 Pro + a workstation.
So that’s what I think of when I think of the SS2+'s value for its price. What is its value compared to competing products I could purchase? Despite the Surface subreddit bagging on its apparent base price increase, the SS2+ is only $200 dollars more than the version I bought in 2019 with similar specs (the 1TB SDD, 32 GB RAM, 1070 RTX model). The Wacon 27 Pro plus stand costs 4k on its own, and the cost of buying a workstation that would pair with it would be in the 2-3k range if I’m lucky.
It’s one of those situations where I’m not sure if I’m willing to buy the SS2+ if there is a bigger, more tantalizing upgrade possible in 2023. I guess I will have to see what next year brings. If my SSD fails, the SS2+ might be the only thing that fits my needs and is within my budget.
Augh! I don’t enjoy having to hold my nose when I contemplate a tech upgrade. 
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That’s a fair point, and conversely, MS gets to price it at whatever the market will bear, not what some JoeSchmoe feels would be appropriate pricing. 
But as I wrote above, I’m hoping the market will make MS sweat a little as very few orders come in, which I then hope will lower the prices and raise the bar for the next model.
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Sorry Joe, but more likely that will lead to Kin/Nokia syndrome…
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I’m hoping the market will make MS sweat a little as very few orders come in, which I then hope will lower the prices and raise the bar for the next model.
Please, yes, Microsoft. Our crops are dying. 
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While I can see this totally flopping in the retail market…the Studio 2+ I’m confident in the commercial market will be a nice little cash cow for Microsoft. The amount of interest/inquires for the Studio 2+ I’m seeing just a few days from the unveil, rival if not outstrips the interest in the Pro 9/Laptop 5.
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