Surface Studio: Aspirational or Delusional?

Make no mistake, Microsoft's recently announced Surface Studio is a stunner, with its 28-inch liquid-smooth 4.5K display. But only the one percent can afford this device. Given that reality, I don't quite see the point.

Of course, Surface Studio launches into a different world than the one the original Surface faced in 2012. And while virtually all Surface devices since have been high-end products, Microsoft formally announced a strategy shift with last year's releases of Surface Book and Surface Pro 4. Surface, we were told, was now a premium brand, and Microsoft would deliver the expected quality---and price tags---to match.

But this week's Surface Studio announcement is somewhat flabbergasting, a crazy escalation of this thinking. And while I've already seen some Microsoft fans race to explain away its lofty pricing, I'm not convinced.

Consider the events of the past year, which I outlined recently in Surface Book: Past, Present, and Future. And then balance that with the fact that Microsoft has in fact made a credible case for a leadership role in the PC industry, despite the reliability issues we've seen with recent Surface products. (Most Surface Book/Pro 4 issues were caused by Intel, after all.) One need only look at the rampant Surface Pro knock-offs to see that other PC makers think so too.

And they are very much premium devices. A Surface Pro 4 with a Core i5 processor, 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB of storage and a Type Cover will set you back $1430, and a similarly configured Surface Book is $1700. But comparable HP and Lenovo PCs are hundreds less, and that's the point: Surface is aspirational, and while most customers can't afford such a thing, the devices inspire PC makers and customers alike to set their sights a bit higher. If those customers choose an HP, Lenovo, or other PC, fine: Microsoft still wins, and the death of the PC is pushed back further yet again.

Some will argue that the Surface Studio positions itself similarly in the All-In-One market. But does it? What's the market for stupidly expensive AIO PCs?

Apple's iMac is the dominant player in the AIO market. It lacks a touch screen and other Surface Studio features, yes. But an iMac with a 27-inch 4K (4096 x 2304) screen, a Core i5 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB Fusion Drive costs $1900. That same configuration with Surface Studio costs an incredible $3000. And that's the cheapest model.

We're in Bizarro World, folks. After a year of shipping incredibly expensive and buggy hardware, Microsoft thinks it can command a 50 percent premium. Over Apple.

Are there any comparable Windows PCs in the market? No, not exactly. But HP sells more AIOs than you probably realize, and some of them are really impressive. And if you look just at touch-enabled models with (non-4K) 27-inch screens, the prices range from $999 to $1499. In other words, the most expensive model is half the price of the least expensive Surface Studio model.

If we accept that a 25 p...

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