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Surface Pro 4 update finally enables on-screen Surface Dial support

Surface Pro 4 update finally enables on-screen Surface Dial support

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Surface Dial hands-on photos
Surface Pro 4 and Surface dial
Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

Microsoft is rolling out new Surface Pro 4 firmware this week, and it finally introduces on-screen support for the Surface Dial accessory. The software maker originally promised to support the Surface Dial fully on the Surface Pro 4 back in October 2016, with a rough release date of early 2017. The support lets the Bluetooth-powered puck display contextual radial menus that you can interact with right on the display (underneath the Surface Dial).

Microsoft’s latest Surface Pro includes this support out of the box, and the all-in-one Surface Studio was the first to introduce the on-screen Surface Dial. The screen size of the Surface Pro 4 is obviously a lot smaller than the Surface Studio, but the ability to sense the puck and display menus could be useful for some. Unfortunately, Surface Dial support has been rather limited from app developers. Adobe finally started supporting it for Photoshop back in October, but it’s very basic support. Apps like Sketchable were the first to show what the Surface Dial is really capable of, but we’re still waiting to see a lot more.