It looks like both the new Surface Studio and Surface Book with Performance Base will be a good fit for engineers. Microsoft has announced that both devices are officially Siemens NX certified, meaning they'll offer up a solid experience when running the product design software.
Siemens says it has worked closely with Microsoft to make sure the Siemens NX software runs smoothly on both Surface devices. Here's how Siemens describes the certification itself:
The Siemens NX certification is granted only to devices that have passed our series of hundreds of tests, which weigh a device's ability to deliver a highly satisfactory end-user experience. Our customers, including numerous major airplane and auto manufacturers, require and depend on this certification to tell them what devices will offer their team the best user experience. To do so, our team tests device capabilities like processor performance, graphics systems and more.
Overall, Siemens sees the Surface Studio and new Surface Book as a boon for product design, praising the ease with which engineers can jump in and create with a combination of different inputs. One of the most intriguing new ways to interact with Siemens NX is with the new Surface Dial accessory, which Siemens says will support basic zooming, panning and rotating, as well as more complex tasks:
Going a step further, we also looked at how Surface Dial can support dynamic geometry manipulation, such as changing sizes and adjusting attributes. These functions can all be performed more smoothly and reliably with Surface Dial versus traditional mouse dragging or even touch, allowing for much finer control over changes.
While the Surface Studio's merits for artists are obvious from the get-go, it's interesting to see how engineers — and really, anyone who creates — can leverage the all-in-one and its Surface Dial accessory. More importantly, it's a positive sign that the industry is supporting these Surface devices with formal certifications.
