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Rumor: Is the end near for the Microsoft Surface?

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Oct 2014 9:16 User comments (7)

Rumor: Is the end near for the Microsoft Surface?

According to the hit or miss Taiwanese supply chain source Digitimes, Microsoft may be preparing to pull the plug on its Surface tablet line.
The sources say sales of the high-end Surface Pro 3 are not as high as the company would like as Microsoft has a hard time convincing consumers that they can replace their laptop with the tablet.

If accurate, the site says Surface Pro 3 sales may not even hit 1 million units, a key milestone that would indicate at least some viability.

In addition to the low sales, the report says Microsoft has not been "very aggressive" about Surface Pro 4 development and is more "likely to terminate" the line entirely. Following price cuts, the 2nd-generation Surface seems to be selling decently well, adds the site, although they estimate that the first and second generation tablets have combined to hit Microsoft with a $1.7 billion loss since launch in 2012.

Source:
Digitimes

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7 user comments

112.10.2014 07:29

Quote:
Rumor: Is the end near for the Microsoft Surface?

Nope.

http://blog.surface.com/2014/10/surface-commitment-to-business/

Doesn't make sense for them to completely exit the tablet market regardless if they're not netting huge profits IMO.

212.10.2014 17:05

If Microsoft stops making Surface Pro, it will be too bad now that Intel is finally producing chips that can meet the performance and power requirements of a tablet. Had Intel produced viable x86 chips sooner or had Microsoft bit the bullet a lot earlier in creating a full ARM version of their software, they might have actually be able to survive in the tablet market.

312.10.2014 23:35

So Lenovo Guru might end up being the only player in this market segment!

412.10.2014 23:45

Originally posted by mscritsm:
If Microsoft stops making Surface Pro, it will be too bad now that Intel is finally producing chips that can meet the performance and power requirements of a tablet. Had Intel produced viable x86 chips sooner or had Microsoft bit the bullet a lot earlier in creating a full ARM version of their software, they might have actually be able to survive in the tablet market.
Well put.

514.10.2014 12:41

It's a shame. IMO they are higher priced, but MS is finally positioning the Surface against their real counterpart (Macbook) and not tablets (iPad) as it's more of a hybrid laptop/tablet and a darn good one in the latest iterations. If only it were priced more competitively with traditional tablets, I'd think more people may bite.

614.10.2014 22:31

Originally posted by SProdigy:
It's a shame. IMO they are higher priced, but MS is finally positioning the Surface against their real counterpart (Macbook) and not tablets (iPad) as it's more of a hybrid laptop/tablet and a darn good one in the latest iterations. If only it were priced more competitively with traditional tablets, I'd think more people may bite.
Next gen maybe?

715.10.2014 11:28

Originally posted by Jemborg:
Originally posted by SProdigy:
It's a shame. IMO they are higher priced, but MS is finally positioning the Surface against their real counterpart (Macbook) and not tablets (iPad) as it's more of a hybrid laptop/tablet and a darn good one in the latest iterations. If only it were priced more competitively with traditional tablets, I'd think more people may bite.
Next gen maybe?
Perhaps. I think Windows 8 being a dog doesn't do the Surface any favors. Windows 9 might help put it in a better position too IMO.

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