I said nothing about Skylake... It's just that if this is supposed to match iMac, it needs to do better in every way. Now, using a mobile processor instead of an desktop one? If Apple did this with iMac, everyone would be complaining here.
it's not really meant to match the iMac. I wouldn't even say they're direct competition.
the iMac is a good desktop computer. But it's most recent variants are aimed at everyday users, and not the creative professionals that would benefit from this sort of input.
if you're not going to take advantage of that display, the Surface Studio is going to be very expensive as just a regular desktop.
also: Apple did do that in their product lineups, and rightfully so, many of us called Apple out on it.
the Mac Mini for example, on last refresh went from using the 45w Quad core options, to the 15w ULV dual core CPU's. why? Cause Apple said so.
the current generation of iMac's also come default with slower CPU's. They ship with 65w parts (Quad core, no hyperthreading on default configuration), which is a step down in performance from the real desktop components.
in fact, the i7 27" iMac is only using the desktop "K" model so that it could thermal throttle down faster under load.
and many MANY people have complained here about Apple's choices in CPU's as well. It's just been so long since they've released or updated them that most of us have moved on to other things to talk about.