It's been four years since Microsoft launched the Surface Studio 2, and it was the last we saw of the Studio line until the Surface Laptop Studio showed up in 2021. But now, Microsoft is bringing its desktop all-in-one back from the dead with the Surface Studio 2+ (Plus). Prior to launch, we'd been expecting this to be called the Surface Studio 3, but it seems like Microsoft may not consider this a big enough upgrade to justify jumping one number up.

Despite that, with four years since the last model, the Surface Studio 2 Plus has had time to make quite a few upgrades, and performance will be much better with this new model. On the outside, though, not much has changed, so whether it's worth it to you depends entirely on how much you care about that form factor and performance uplift. Let's take a closer look.

Surface Studio 2 Plus: Specs

Surface Studio 2 Plus: Price and release date

Microsoft announced the Surface Studio 2+ at its Surface event on October 12th, 2022, alongside the Surface Pro 9 and Surface Laptop 5, and it became available for pre-order on the same day. You should be able to find it at the usual electronics retailers, as well as the Microsoft Store.

There's only one SKU of the Surface Studio 2 Plus this time, and it's a fairly expensive one. For an Intel Core i7-11370H, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD, you'll be paying $4,299.99, and that's without any accessories like the mouse, keyboard, or pen. If you want the complete experience, you have to shell out $4,499.99.

For reference, the Surface Studio was available in three SKUs and it started at $3,499.99, which was a significantly lower price tag.

What's new in the Surface Studio 2 Plus?

For the most part, the Surface Studio 2+ hasn't received a ton of changes coming from the Surface Studio 2, but there are some very significant upgrades on the inside. Let's take a closer look.

A spec bump

Undoubtedly the biggest upgrade the Surface Studio 2+ has over its predecessor is in terms of specs. It's been four years since the last model launched, and that's a lot of time in the technology world. So, while the Surface Studio 2 shipped with a seventh-generation Intel Core i7-7820HQ, the Surface Studio 2+ upgrades to an 11th-generation Intel Core i7-11370H. Interestingly, this is a downgrade in terms of the TDP, as the Surface Studio 2 had a 45W processor and now we're getting a 35W processor.

Still, it's a pretty major upgrade. You still get four cores and eight threads, but now it can boost up to 4.8GHz (instead of 3.9GHz), and Microsoft touts a performance uplift of up to 50% over the Surface Studio 2.

Similarly, the GPU is a pretty major upgrade, too. We're going from an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 (in the top-tier configurations) to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU. Technically, it's a step lower in Nvidia's lineup, but two generations of Nvidia of hardware have passed, so Microsoft is promising twice the graphics performance of the original Surface Studio 2. That should be a big deal for all kinds of creative workloads, and it makes this the fastest Surface PC yet.

Aside from those two components, the internals haven't changed all that much. Since there's only one configuration now, you get 32GB of RAM (which was the highest option available before), and a 1TB SSD. That's a step down from the previous top-tier configuration, which had a 2TB SSD.

Thunderbolt 4 support

Microsoft has been gradually adding Thunderbolt 4 support to its devices since the Surface Pro 8 and Surface Laptop Studio in 2021, and now, it's one of the big upgrades on the Surface Studio 2+, too. All three of the USB Type-C ports on the back of the device now support Thunderbolt 4, so you can connect high-resolution external displays that leverage Thunderbolt, with up to three 4K displays supported at 60Hz across the different ports.

Thunderbolt 4 is also useful if you want to connect docking stations to add more ports to the computer, including HDMI or DisplayPort. You should also be able to connect external GPUs if you want a bit more graphics power later down the line without spending thousands of dollars on a new PC.

And on that note, yes, the ports themselves have changed. The Surface Studio 2 only had one USB Type-C port and four USB Type-A ports, but now, there are three USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports and two USB Type-A ports. It also seems that Microsoft has removed the SD card reader this time around.

Miscellaneous improvements

Aside from the more notable upgrades, Microsoft has also mentioned some improvements to other parts of the Surface Studio 2+. For instance, the display now supports Dolby Vision, so you should be able to enjoy HDR content on it.

The webcam has also been improved, though Microsoft didn't say how. It still supports 1080p video like the previous models, so either way, it should still be great. Similarly, the "Studio Mics" used for calls have also been enhanced, though Microsoft didn't provide much in the way of details there.

Where can I buy the Surface Studio 2 Plus?

As we've mentioned above, you should be able to find the Surface Studio 2+ at the usual electronics retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, and the Microsoft Store. Pre-orders are already live, so if the product interests you, you can buy it using the link below. Again, it'll set you back at least $4,299.99.