Microsoft launches first desktop, Windows update with 3D features

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.