Microsoft takes aim at Apple with cool 3D software
Microsoft wants to bring life to common computing experiences by adding a third dimension to widely used software such as Windows and Office.
The new tools, part of a free “Creators Update” to Windows 10 early next year, promise to make it easy for people to create and share photos, drawings and other images in 3D.
Microsoft also announced a high-end desktop called Surface Studio. Costing about $3,000, the Studio will be targeted at creators such as architects, artists and engineers, many of whom have long used Apple’s Mac computers.
The Studio’s 28-inch display is on a flexible hinge, so users can view it straight on, or tilt it to as low as 20 degrees for drafting. Wednesday’s announcements in New York come a day before Apple is expected to refresh its Mac lineup.
Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s CEO, said innovations over the past decade have been focused on “helping us consume more information and media in different formats.” He said the next decade will be defined by technology that empowers people to create.
Jan Dawson, an analyst with Jackdaw Research, said Microsoft has been pushing business products and services lately. Dawson said the company “has needed a rallying point for a set of efforts around consumer use cases, and it appears to have decided on creativity as the catchphrase for this push.”
Dawson said that Microsoft seems to be challenging not just Apple’s success with professional creators, but wants to embrace a broader base of consumers, too.
While the Studio will likely be a niche product, the Windows update will have broader reach.
With the 3D tools, for instance, instead of taking a regular photo of a sand castle in two dimensions a beach-goer will be able to scan all sides of the castle with a phone. Microsoft’s tools will convert that into 3D; viewers can rotate the virtual