Don't be tempted.
Microsoft is making hardware that looks tempting these days, but the Surface line has been plagued with bugs for YEARS. I've owned two of them since the release of the first model.
Microsoft doesn't have good QC in place, and their support is a nightmare unless you happen to get lucky at one of the few Microsoft Stores. I ended up paying $450 out of pocket for a replacement unit when my battery went 'bad' at 14 months old. Microsoft later realized it was a firmware issue. It took them six months after acknowledging this to actually fix it though, during which time owners couldn't use their machines without being connected to a power cord!! They made a promise that they would contact those of us who had paid the $450 to fix this firmware problem, which of course they never did.
And don't discount the number of times MS has abruptly discontinued a hardware lineup with no further support offered.
Switch at your own risk.
So true. I've owned four different Surface devices since the original (including the RT) and all of which I either took back within the first 30 days or sold at a small fraction of the MSRP within just 6 months. The original Surface Pro was far too heavy and buggy for any kind of long-term use. The RT actually wasn't a bad little machine, but limited in functionality and usage (RT was also abandoned within, like a year). The Surface 3 was riddled with literally hours worth of system updates and patches the moment you took it out of the box and powered it on. Once I WAS up and running there was also the aftershock of being outside of the Apple ecosystem (Messages, Photos, etc - although iCloud.com these days can supplement some of those services a bit).
I keep reading in these forums of how many MacBook owners were disappointed with yesterday's Apple's Mac event and had decided to just hold off on buying a new one; still using their trusty 2013, 2012, 2011 or even 2010 MacBook. How many original Surface owners can say that? Are those devices even still receiving any kind of updates or support? The original was only just released October 2012, the Pro in 2013. Can any "long-time" Surface owners weigh in on this?
I'll admit that I was salivating during the Surface Studio unveiling (and even almost pre-ordered) until I remembered just recently how last year's Surface Book owners were crippled for 2 months waiting on device drivers so they could properly use their brand new device (don't get me started on all the bad customer service stories I read about MS during that time). I have yet to walk into any Microsoft Store or Best Buy and test a Surface Book that actually worked (software to undock the screen, really MS?).
Within the first week after the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book were first released I ran over to our local DC Metro area Microsoft Store to try them out. The only Surface Pro 4 display unit had a broken pen tip. I couldn't even undock the screen (yes the OS was on and logged in) on the only Surface Book display model and not one MS Employee came over in the 15 minutes I was there to help. But I have YET to walk into any Apple Store and find a demo unit that doesn't work or has broken hardware (I'm sure a few Apple Store customers in Dijon France had a different experience though a few weeks ago).
I'll admit that Microsoft is taking steps in the right direction lately with their OS, engineering and designs (HP admittedly has had a couple of great designs as of late as well); giving the market some healthy competition. What Apple has done is set a standard that consumers have come to expect, as well as appreciate, and PC manufacturers are finally starting to take note (albeit slowly). Microsoft really went after Apple's core following with the Surface Studio and it's a great looking device (the stand is pretty "meh" though). They gave us the device that I've dreamed of from Apple since before the release of the first iPad, but is it a "Cintiq killer"? Professionals will have to weigh in on this after they've had some substantial time with it, but I personally doubt it.
The 1,028 levels of pen pressure sensitivity on the Surface Studio pen is pre-2010 Wacom. Wacom's latest device, the MobileStudio Pro (a 4K IPS portable device that comes in both 13" and 16" screen sizes, runs Windows 10 natively and can also be used as a pen input display with a Mac), comes with the Pro Pen 2 that has zero parallax, is 4x more pressure sensitive than the 2,048 levels of the original Pro Pen (that's over 8000 levels of pressure sensitivity!) and is 4x more accurate.
My Wife works as a sketch artist, graphic designer and video animator. For drawing she prefers an actual pencil (or chalk or water colors) and paper. If I put her in front of a Cintiq though, she goes nuts and loves the natural feel and responsiveness of the pen. Same goes for the iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil (anytime we go to the Apple Store we're there for over an hour while she draws with the iPad Pro display units). But the times she's demoed a Surface, it only holds her interest for less than five minutes and she comments that the pen experience just doesn't feel right. She also gets frustrated by the constant interruption while drawing as menus keep popping up from unintended palm inputs (Windows 10 palm rejection needs some work).
Would I love a device right now like the Microsoft Surface Studio? - Absolutely. But if I drop $3000 - $4199 of our hard earned money on their device will it still work in four years, be supported and get the latest updates by then, or even hold a fraction of it's resale value? I'm not so sure...