Microsoft’s Surface initiative has been fairly successful in pointing out to its Windows partners just how to make a great mobile PC. The breadth and depth of the Windows 10 2-in-1 market is a testament to Microsoft’s strategy, and the company has broadened its efforts to desktops with the new Surface Studio.
While normally these kinds of efforts take some time to starting showing an impact, it appears that Surface has already inspired at least one Windows original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Dell, to devise its own innovative and creativity-focused desktop solution, as The Verge reports.
The news comes from Adobe’s MAX conference underway at the San Diego Convention Center. MAX is Adobe’s main event intended to showcase the company’s Creative Cloud solutions and highlight how it is impacting the future of creativity and design in computing technology. Adobe ran a 90-second video highlighting an upcoming Dell machine that will feature a dual-display design and a very Microsoft Surface Dial-like input device.
Microsoft has already made it clear that it’s more than happy if OEM partners copy the Surface Dial. Microsoft Windows and Devices chief Terry Myerson wasn’t joking when he said, “Everything we’re doing here, we’re actively working with partners on their own expression of the idea. We put a lot of R&D into creating these. We’re going to try lots of ideas, and we’re going to develop some of them and get really serious about them, but then all of this technology is available to our partners. I look forward to them taking the pieces of it and creating their own expression for their own customers.”
The Dell controller puck is so similar to Microsoft’s accessory that it can’t just be an accident. Clearly, Microsoft is maintaining not only its pressure on OEMs to make better Windows machines, but it’s also working closely with them to make it happen.
With regard to Dell’s machine itself, it’s also clear that the OEM intends to go even further than Microsoft in making an innovative creativity platform. The machine eschews a standard keyboard, replacing it with a second touch- and pen-enabled display that should allow for some flexibility in being creative. The row of speakers along the bottom of the primary display demonstrates that it’s not just visual artists that Dell is targeting. Musicians are also getting some serious consideration as well.
The video didn’t provide any additional details about Dell’s new machine, such as pricing, general specifications, or options, or when we might see it arrive for purchase. All Dell has to say so far about the product is “Welcome to your new workspace” and “Coming soon.”
Nevertheless, it’s an important glimpse into the future of Windows 10 PCs and a great indication that the Windows 10 Creators Update should have a real impact on the future of PC design. Microsoft’s strategy of pushing PCs forward looks to be just as successful with its efforts in helping create a more robust Windows notebook market.
