Microsoft Planning Low-Cost Surface Line to Compete With Apple's $329 iPad

[essential]

The problem is, low budget machines running Windows are really really bad. I just cannot see a $329 surface running anywhere near as efficient as the iPad. Hopefully they prove me wrong, because I would definitely buy one for work.

This is the main issue. Sure, a full 10" Windows 10 Pro device for $400? Sounds great, but I'm assuming the $400 will be the 64GB model, which will be pushing your storage limits from the start ... then I believe you need a minimum of 8GB RAM to run Windows smoothly, and no doubt the $400 model will come with 4GB. Also, for $400 I highly doubt you're even getting an i3. So yea, ideally this is great, but in practice I can't see it being a smooth Windows experience at the $400 price point with that parts you'd likely get, unless people are using it strictly for email/web browsing/youtube.

 

[MrBat]

Let's suppose you want a tablet, have to run the full version of Microsoft Office and only have $400. Is that reason enough for someone to want to buy this crap?

I was torn apart between iPad 2018 with Pencil and iPad Pro. Have access to Pen + full Excel and Word was a deal breaker. Will keep an eye to this potential new Surface tablet for sure.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

For everyone poo pooing the idea I think you might have Apple-colored glasses on. This is an aggressive move by MS to staunch any effort for the iPad to really penetrate the lower tier of the "quality" tablet market. It also serve as a gateway to Surface to those who are curious about it but aren't going to fork over $700+.

Obviously we'll have to see what MS pushes out but it could give the lower end iPad a run for its money, even impact the mid-range if MS does a good job with it. For one, the entry iPad isn't compatible with the Smart Keyboard. That gives Surface a leg up right there. OTOH, if it just serves up a bucket of old parts, Apple's old parts are better than Wintels and Apple easily wins on build quality. You only get one shot at a first impression.

But as someone with zero MS hardware and a home chock full of Apple product I have to say I'll probably buy one to toy with if it retails for $300. I imagine there will be loads of Black Friday deals and bundles. But even if it doesn't pan out it puts more pressure on Apple to remain competitive in the tablet market and also take a hard look at getting iOS for iPad right.

 

[Geardo_Ranger]

For everyone poo pooing the idea I think you might have Apple-colored glasses on. This is an aggressive move by MS to staunch any effort for the iPad to really penetrate the lower tier of the "quality" tablet market. It also serve as a gateway to Surface to those who are curious about it but aren't going to fork over $700+.

Obviously we'll have to see what MS pushes out but it could give the lower end iPad a run for its money, even impact the mid-range if MS does a good job with it. For one, the entry iPad isn't compatible with the Smart Keyboard. That gives Surface a leg up right there. OTOH, if it just serves up a bucket of old parts, Apple's old parts are better than Wintels and Apple easily wins on build quality. You only get one shot at a first impression.

But as someone with zero MS hardware and a home chock full of Apple product I have to say I'll probably buy one to toy with if it retails for $300. I imagine there will be loads of Black Friday deals and bundles. But even if it doesn't pan out it puts more pressure on Apple to remain competitive in the tablet market and also take a hard look at getting iOS for iPad right.

Well said and fully agree. I also thought the new IPAD for Educators with lack of smart keyboard support was a horrible idea.

 

[PhoneI]

For everyone poo pooing the idea I think you might have Apple-colored glasses on. This is an aggressive move by MS to staunch any effort for the iPad to really penetrate the lower tier of the "quality" tablet market. It also serve as a gateway to Surface to those who are curious about it but aren't going to fork over $700+.

Obviously we'll have to see what MS pushes out but it could give the lower end iPad a run for its money, even impact the mid-range if MS does a good job with it. For one, the entry iPad isn't compatible with the Smart Keyboard. That gives Surface a leg up right there. OTOH, if it just serves up a bucket of old parts, Apple's old parts are better than Wintels and Apple easily wins on build quality. You only get one shot at a first impression.

But as someone with zero MS hardware and a home chock full of Apple product I have to say I'll probably buy one to toy with if it retails for $300. I imagine there will be loads of Black Friday deals and bundles. But even if it doesn't pan out it puts more pressure on Apple to remain competitive in the tablet market and also take a hard look at getting iOS for iPad right.

Im 'poo pooing' because I think the Surface is absolute garbage. Have you ever tried one?

 

[Spock]

Microsoft has been partnering with companies and have been releasing Windows 10 on ARM devices that are fully compatible with traditional PC software using hardware emulation in the ARM chip. If Microsoft could build a ARM based surface compatible with existing windows software with the keyboard and pen option and keep the price under $500 they have the potential to take on Apple.

 

[H2SO4]

I was torn apart between iPad 2018 with Pencil and iPad Pro. Have access to Pen + full Excel and Word was a deal breaker. Will keep an eye to this potential new Surface tablet for sure.

For me, if I have the choice I'll get both. But if I could only have one then it's the surface. I suppose it depends what you want it for. I don't like it but a full OS opens up a lot more possibility, for my work at least.
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Im 'poo pooing' because I think the Surface is absolute garbage. Have you ever tried one?

What a ludicrous statement. It's not absolute garbage at all. You might not like it and it might underperform relative to the competition, but garbage?
Please!

So lets pit the iPad against something that requires Windows only. Suddenly the iPad is looking worse than garbage?

 

[redneckitengineer]

The day I bring a Windows PC back into my life is the day I become a hermit and move to rural Alaska.

 

[rp2011]

Love my 12.9 iPad pro, but for the price, I couldn't help but buy a new 2018 iPad for work. This new iPad is going to sell really well. It will cannibalize the 10.5 pro and make the 12.9 the defacto professional model as the 10.5 only offers marginal value over the 12.9 for professional artists or those replacing their Mac with an iPad.

 

[essential]

Im 'poo pooing' because I think the Surface is absolute garbage. Have you ever tried one?

I have a first gen Surface Pro, which I still use today. Still very functional, and I have a friend with a high end Surface Pro 3, and he loves it, it's his main computer. They are far from garbage, but def on the high end of the price spectrum. A $400 device sounds great if they can make the Windows experience on a cheaper device as smooth as the iOS experience on a cheaper device.

 

[gnipgnop]

This is an aggressive move by MS to staunch any effort for the iPad to really penetrate the lower tier of the "quality" tablet market.

Why would an aggressive move by MS have any effect at all? They're not actually a major player in either the tablet or laptop market at ANY price point.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Im 'poo pooing' because I think the Surface is absolute garbage. Have you ever tried one?

Bit of hyperbole. Agree Surface was garbage in its first couple iterations. It's a decent competitor these days -- even MR's review a few weeks ago agreed.

As I said in my post I don't own a lick of MS hardware and do have a houseful of Apple hardware. That's because I prefer Apple's ecosystem. But I also don't kid myself that Apple is some sort of beacon of perfection. We can look to it's recent half baked hardware and s/w to see that. Just yesterday I summoned Siri to turn on my "master bedroom." She said she would play my music shuffled. OK then. Talk about garbage. The current iPad 2018 itself is a creature of yesterday's parts, nothing fancy about it to make it stand out really. It doesn't even have a laminated screen. To think a $300 Surface couldn't compete with an iPad is silly.

 

[Rogifan]

For everyone poo pooing the idea I think you might have Apple-colored glasses on. This is an aggressive move by MS to staunch any effort for the iPad to really penetrate the lower tier of the "quality" tablet market. It also serve as a gateway to Surface to those who are curious about it but aren't going to fork over $700+.

Obviously we'll have to see what MS pushes out but it could give the lower end iPad a run for its money, even impact the mid-range if MS does a good job with it. For one, the entry iPad isn't compatible with the Smart Keyboard. That gives Surface a leg up right there. OTOH, if it just serves up a bucket of old parts, Apple's old parts are better than Wintels and Apple easily wins on build quality. You only get one shot at a first impression.

But as someone with zero MS hardware and a home chock full of Apple product I have to say I'll probably buy one to toy with if it retails for $300. I imagine there will be loads of Black Friday deals and bundles. But even if it doesn't pan out it puts more pressure on Apple to remain competitive in the tablet market and also take a hard look at getting iOS for iPad right.

The original Surface which first launched in 2012 started at $499, $599 with keyboard cover. I don’t think the issue with Surface is price. It’s a niche product and the people it appeals to want a laptop not a tablet, hence why Surface Book and Surface Laptop were created.

 

[Jimmdean]

In our company the Surface just hasn't been shown to be very useful. It's not a better laptop than a Thinkpad and not nearly durable enough to compete with how we use our iPads. I can't imagine a cheaper model being better in either regard.

 

[gnipgnop]

It will cannibalize the 10.5 pro and make the 12.9 the defacto professional model as the 10.5 only offers marginal value over the 12.9 for professional artists or those replacing their Mac with an iPad.

Not so sure about that. The extra 2 GB of RAM and the more advanced screen technology in the 10.5/12.9 are a solid differentiation by themselves, and you have to figure that the SoC refresh coming up for those models is going to be significant as well. That said, you're right, the 9.7 iPad is still going to be very attractive to a lot of customers.

 

[Rogifan]

Why would an aggressive move by MS have any effect at all? They're not actually a major player in either the tablet or laptop market at ANY price point.

Also the original Surface started at $499. Microsoft had only gone upmarket since probably because they determined the customer segment for Surface wants a high quality laptop not a tablet. Hence why they made Surface Laptop. I’ll bet most Surface Pro/Book users rarely use it without a keyboard.

 

[mattopotamus]

For everyone poo pooing the idea I think you might have Apple-colored glasses on. This is an aggressive move by MS to staunch any effort for the iPad to really penetrate the lower tier of the "quality" tablet market. It also serve as a gateway to Surface to those who are curious about it but aren't going to fork over $700+.

Obviously we'll have to see what MS pushes out but it could give the lower end iPad a run for its money, even impact the mid-range if MS does a good job with it. For one, the entry iPad isn't compatible with the Smart Keyboard. That gives Surface a leg up right there. OTOH, if it just serves up a bucket of old parts, Apple's old parts are better than Wintels and Apple easily wins on build quality. You only get one shot at a first impression.

But as someone with zero MS hardware and a home chock full of Apple product I have to say I'll probably buy one to toy with if it retails for $300. I imagine there will be loads of Black Friday deals and bundles. But even if it doesn't pan out it puts more pressure on Apple to remain competitive in the tablet market and also take a hard look at getting iOS for iPad right.

It is more of a prove it Microsoft mentality. It seems like a lot of us have used budget Microsoft products and they are absolute ****. I really want to be wrong, but right now it is just all talk.

 

[78Bandit]

I love my Surface Pro, but I don't think a low-end Surface will ever work. The expectation gap is just too big. Consumers hear "Windows Device" and immediately think it should be able to run the full version of Office, Photoshop, video editing software, etc. It just isn't powerful enough.

The only way Microsoft can ensure a decent experience is to limit programs to ones in the Windows store (either specific design or curated progressive web apps) and that is going to set up disappointment for consumers. If Microsoft wants to make a consumption device that will compete with the iPad then they need to name both the device and the OS something different. It needs to be very distinguishable from the full Surface line of products.

 

[jonnyo]

Let's suppose you want a tablet, have to run the full version of Microsoft Office and only have $400. Is that reason enough for someone to want to buy this crap?

There is no one device that elegantly* solves this problem, regardless of price. Your options are an iPad that sets the standard for tablet computing but only runs a watered-down version of Office or a Surface that can run Office properly but is woefully lacking of touch-centric apps.

* One could always run the full version of Office on an iPad using VDI or some other remote access solution. But even the dirtiest VMware salesperson wouldn't call such a solution 'elegant'. (And that's saying something, considering that VMware is connected to EMC.)

 

[Chupa Chupa]

Why would an aggressive move by MS have any effect at all? They're not actually a major player in either the tablet or laptop market at ANY price point.

That's your conclusion, not mine. I didn't say what kind of affect it will have, just that it's an aggressive move not to cede the low end "quality" market to Apple, just as Apple's move to produce a $300 tablet was aggressive so as to not cede to Android/Chromebook. We'll have to see what MS pushes out to see what kind of affect it will have.

And just because MS isn't a player in the tablet or laptop market at "any" price point doesn't mean that potential isn't there. Example: back in 2009 Android was not a major player in the phone OS market. Thank cheap Android phones for quickly eclipsing iPhone in worldwide marketshare.

 

[Xgm541]

Not sure why anyone would buy this crap. The surface is an awful tablet and a mediocre laptop.

To each their own. I have a surface and prefer to have a full x86 machine capable of running desktop software.

 

[rp2011]

Not so sure about that. The extra 2 GB of RAM and the more advanced screen technology in the 10.5/12.9 are a solid differentiation by themselves, and you have to figure that the SoC refresh coming up for those models is going to be significant as well. That said, you're right, the 9.7 iPad is still going to be very attractive to a lot of customers.

Yeah, but a lot of folks went with the smaller pro for portability over function. Now that line is kinda blurred and the added real estate of the 12.9 for professionals is kinda the deal breakers. Like I said, I have both, and am glad i went with 12.9 as now I also have a more portable one for half the price.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

The original Surface which first launched in 2012 started at $499, $599 with keyboard cover. I don’t think the issue with Surface is price. It’s a niche product and the people it appeals to want a laptop not a tablet, hence why Surface Book and Surface Laptop were created.

Yes, but the original surface had lots of usability problems. You are correct, price was not that model's problem. But Surfaces are more expensive these days, and more than most consumer grade PC laptops and also lacks definition as to what kind of product its suppose to be so people don't want to risk it. But a $300 Surface lowers that barrier.
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It is more of a prove it Microsoft mentality. It seems like a lot of us have used budget Microsoft products and they are absolute ****. I really want to be wrong, but right now it is just all talk.

Well, I agree, words are cheap and we have to see exactly what MS pushes out. I said as much in my original post. But the naysayers here are jumping the gun and knocking the product even before we see what it is. Could be a piece of junk. Could be something that isn't top notch but can keep pace with a $300 iPad. But to dismiss it this early is just fan boyish.

 

[PowerGala]

Also the original Surface started at $499. Microsoft had only gone upmarket since probably because they determined the customer segment for Surface wants a high quality laptop not a tablet. Hence why they made Surface Laptop. I’ll bet most Surface Pro/Book users rarely use it without a keyboard.

The Surface RTs were crap. They were ARM based and at the time they didn’t have much support in terms of Apps. The Pros were just a lot better and offered a lot more. People are willing to pay a premium for a decent two in one laptop.

If Microsoft is going cheap on the Surface line again, hopefully they learned from the RTs and hopefully they have will have more support. I know a lot of the guys at my office love their Surfaces. I guess we’ll see.

 

[mazz0]

Apple's low-cost iPad includes Apple Pencil support, an A10 Fusion chip with 64-bit desktop-class architecture, a Retina display, enhanced cameras, and advanced sensors with a gyroscope and accelerometer, which fuel powerful augmented reality apps through ARKit.

That was a bit press-releasey. What exactly is desktop class architecture, a Retina display, an enhanced camera or an advanced sensor?