Back in 2019, Microsoft announced a brand new large screen desktop computer called the Surface Studio. The Surface Studio introduced a new workstation computer based around a 28-inch adjustable touch display. This hinged display can be set in either a traditional upright Apple iMac position or flat Slate Raven style. At first glance, the first-gen Surface Studio looked as though it could become a bit of an Apple iMac killer. It wasn’t, but does the second generation of Surface Studio stand a better chance?

We’ll touch on the performance of the Surface Studio 2 later in the article. When the news of the first Surface Studio landed it instantly captured my imagination because of a circular dial peripheral called the Touch Dial. This puck-like device can be placed directly on the display to navigate menus and manipulate controls. My mind wandered, I imagined this simple device as a fantastic tactile control for dialling in plug-in settings in a DAW.

We’ve all tried adjusting plug-ins exclusively with touch, and it’s never been a perfect experience so many of us don’t bother. Could the Touch Dial be the halfway house between touch and tactile? Possibly, but we may never know as the Touch Dial is only suited for applications that support it. You don’t need a Surface computer to use the Touch Dial. These work via BlueTooth with any Windows 10 computer. To learn more about how this work watch the Getting to Know Surface Dial below.

As this video shows, the Touch Dial looks impressive but needs third party developers to embrace it if it is ever to be a useful device outside of primary operating system control. The Touch Dial over the last three years sadly did not capture the imagination of creatives, especially in the audio production industry, which I think is a shame. After all, the tactile haptic technology is there in the Touch Dial, it’s just waiting to have a purpose in audio production.

Surface Studio 2 Or Trusty iMac?

Like the first-generation Surface Studios, the specs of the second-generation machines look appealing. The entry model boasts 1TB storage, i7 and 16GB RAM for £3,549 which is more than enough to run a healthy recording and mixing session. Sadly, the cost of a Surface Studio is still higher than similarly spec’d Apple iMacs however the iMac (non-pro) looks a bit long in the tooth compared to the design of the Surface Studio.

I can’t imagine a better workstation for digital creatives who produce visual arts. For audio engineers, the iMac still looks to be the obvious choice out of the two, and better bang for buck as well. The iMac has got to evolve at some point as the all-in-one desktop computer market is rather crowded these days which does beg the question - How much longer can the iMac stay the audio engineer’s computer of choice?

I still think Microsoft hit on something special in the Surface Studio, especially with this hybrid touch/dial combination. Relying on touchscreens alone when working in DAW sessions doesn’t appeal the everyone. Many audio engineers, myself included, prefer reaching for physical controls of some kind. We have control surfaces with encoders and touch screens but rarely do the two meet in the same place, up until the Surface Studio with Touch Dial of course. If the Surface Studio 2 can prove itself to be a powerful machine and boast fantastic hybrid touch-control in its Touch Dial supported by more third-party software developers then it could one-day break ground in the iMac crowd. It's just not quite there yet for serious audio engineering.

If you are a laptop user in the market for a new machine then check out our article below that compares Apple’s current MacBook against ASUS’s new Zen Book Pro Duo with integrated ScreenPad.