Microsoft launches first desktop updates 3Dfeatures

Microsoft launches first desktop, Windows update with 3D feature
Terry Myerson, Microsoft Executive Vice President of the Windows and Devices Group speaks about Microsoft's Windows 10 ''Creator...
REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON
Panos Panay, Corporate Vice President for Surface Computing holds the new Microsoft Surface Studio computer at a live event in ...
REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON.
Megan Saunders, Microsoft general manager of HoloLens and other emergent technologies announces Microsoft's ''Paint 3D'' at a li...
REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Satya Narayana Nadella speaks at a live Microsoft event in the Manhattan borough of New...
REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON
Taj Reid, Senior Designer at Microsoft wears a HoloLens VR headset at Microsoft's Windows 10 ''Creators Update'' live event in ...
REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON
Taj Reid, Senior Designer at Microsoft wears a HoloLens VR headset at Microsoft's Windows 10 ''Creators Update'' live event in ...
REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON
Terry Myerson, Microsoft Executive Vice President of the Windows and Devices Group speaks about Microsoft's Windows 10 ''Creator...
REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON
Megan Saunders, Microsoft general manager of HoloLens and other emergent technologies speaks at a live Microsoft event in the M...
REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON
Panos Panay, Corporate Vice President for Surface Computing speaks at Microsoft's Windows 10 ''Creators Update'' live event in t...
REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON
Megan Saunders, Microsoft general manager of HoloLens and other emergent technologies speaks at a live Microsoft event in the M...
REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON
Megan Saunders, Microsoft general manager of HoloLens and other emergent technologies speaks at a live Microsoft event in the M...
REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON
Terry Myerson, Microsoft Executive Vice President of the Windows and Devices Group speaks about Microsoft's Windows 10 ''Creator...
REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON .
Panos Panay, Corporate Vice President for Surface Computing holds the new Microsoft Surface Studio computer at a live event in ...
REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON
By Jeffrey Dastin | NEW YORK
Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) on Wednesday unveiled its first-ever desktop computer and a free update to its Windows operating system that allows edits using 3D simulations, in hopes of reinvigorating its computing business.

The Windows 10 Creators Update, coming in early 2017, lets mobile devices scan an object on all sides so it can rotate 360 degrees in a photograph. It also allows for three-dimensional graphics in Microsoft's popular PowerPoint presentation software, and a new "Paint 3D" application allows edits in 3D simulations.

Sales for Microsoft's computing business have declined since 2015. With the new features, Microsoft is hoping to stand out from the pack and win over creative types who have long preferred products from rival Apple Inc (AAPL.O).

"Microsoft has its work cut out in trying to convince potential customers that its products are more than just the workhorses they've always been for many," analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research said in a note. "That won't change overnight."

Microsoft shares closed 0.6 percent lower at $60.63.

The technology company's desktop computer, the Surface Studio, has a touch-screen monitor that can lie flat and be drawn on with a stylus. Microsoft also said it would introduce a new Surface Book laptop whose battery life is 30 percent longer at 16 hours.

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At $2,999 and up, the Surface Studio will be "out of reach for the vast majority of consumers," Dawson said.

The upgrade, for Windows 10 only, has limits as well. While more than 400 million devices run on Windows 10, far more computers still have Windows 7 installed, according to data from NetMarketShare. That means the majority of users will not see any changes.

Nonetheless, analysts said the upgrade puts Microsoft at the forefront of mass-market 3D tech.

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