Will Microsoft cancel the Surface?

[1885507]

PC World: Microsoft Surface sales are tanking, Microsoft says (January 2023)
https://www.pcworld.com/article/1483172/microsoft-surface-sales-are-tanking-microsoft-says.html

 

[russell_314]

They need to do something big to get out of a rut they’re in. Canceling the surface just seems like giving up and admitting failure. It’s not a good look from a company that looks already desperate when it comes to the PC market. It really comes across in their ads.

 

[MBAir2010]

i voted no, but.....

the Surface is an incredible device that can compute and do everything one needs for Windows.
The person who is president of a web design company says the surface is the best windows product.
back in 2018 i used the surface go for a cartoon project and liked the overall feel
and accessible port like the sd drive and better power connection than an iPad lighting one.

BUT
these surfaces don't stand a chance market wise to any comparable iPad!
just the battery longevity is no comparison from the Suface to any iPad.
and the cheapness of the outer casing is a negative as well.

if Microsoft is suffering from sales lately according to the tech pundits reporting, a better surface might help them.

 

[Falhófnir]

A shame but they've overstretched the lineup, particularly the Go products. Surface started out as a showpiece line, Go blurs that by making some really mediocre-bad computers (eMMC, low resolution displays, cheap plastic body components) to hit a price point. Which leads us to the pricing, which is way out of balance. Even Apple offers significantly better value, but they can't really adjust this meaningfully without stepping on their OEM partner's toes. And they ended development on the unique/ interesting Surface Book in favour of the Surface Laptop Studio which is thoroughly meh. They need a Jobs style makeover to focus the lineup back to a few models built around what they do best.

 

[lostPod]

Maybe sales are tanking because the device lasts quite awhile? I dono lol I still have an older Surface Pro and it runs like a champ.

 

[MBAir2010]

Maybe sales are tanking because the device lasts quite awhile? I dono lol I still have an older Surface Pro and it runs like a champ.

My iPad from 2017 works great but I noticed some videos are not streaming and ain't what she used to be, Ain't what she used to be, ain't what she used to be,The old gray iPad, she ain't what she used to be,Many long years ago.
well 5 years ago.....

 

[sgtaylor5]

Windows is a complete operating system; iPadOS is not. That’s why everybody who wants an iPad to act like a Surface is disappointed.

 

[MBAir2010]

Windows is a complete operating system; iPadOS is not. That’s why everybody who wants an iPad to act like a Surface is disappointed.

i think iOS does everything we need for a tablet
and we can airdrop files with out MacBooks and iPhones instead of using a cable,
and iPads are just made better with a much longer shelve life a
nd better battery performance, according to a 2019 PCMag review.

 

[sgtaylor5]

i think iOS does everything we need for a tablet
and we can airdrop files with out MacBooks and iPhones instead of using a cable,
and iPads are just made better with a much longer shelve life a
nd better battery performance, according to a 2019 PCMag review.

and that's the right attitude to have; accept what iPadOS does for what it is.

 

[Danfango]

Surface is landfill. We're seeing 2 in 5 failure rate in 18 months. About 2% don't even work when we get them. Also impossible to repair so after 12 months we have to send them to the recycler. Service is garbage as well in the UK.

Back to Dell and Lenovo it is.

Everyone likes to pick on Apple but Microsoft churn out garbage hardware and garbage software constantly. Ire needs directing more towards them.

 

[Danfango]

Windows is a complete operating system; iPadOS is not. That’s why everybody who wants an iPad to act like a Surface is disappointed.

Windows on a touch screen is not a complete operating system either. It's a carrot strapped to a horse's head with the word "unicorn" scribbled on the side of it. Everything is a hack job and the it's just horrible to use. Not only that the desktop users are now forced to deal with things clearly half baked for tablet use as well. It just hurts everyone.

If I want to do computer things I'm going to use a computer. If I want to do tablet things I'm going to use a tablet. Mixing them up into one incoherent amorphous lump of mud and calling it a success is either good marketing or a lie.

Microsoft had a really damn good tablet operating system but they screwed it up and scared all the developers away due to their schizophrenic product direction changes.

 

[sam_dean]

Microsoft Surface does not provide a wide enough distinction to other x86 laptops.

If I was Microsoft I'd use the Surface as an ARM laptop with near M1-like performance per watt for Windows 11.

Would be funny if Surface ends up owning the top ~20% of the Windows laptop market while x86 laptops being largely limited to the sub-$999 laptop market.

 

[Danfango]

Microsoft Surface does not provide a wide enough distinction to other x86 laptops.

If I was Microsoft I'd use the Surface as an ARM laptop with near M1-like performance per watt for Windows 11.

Would be funny if Surface ends up owning the top ~20% of the Windows laptop market while x86 laptops being largely limited to the sub-$999 laptop market.

That's very unlikely. I don't know anyone who bought a surface who'd buy another one. They all end up back on the Lenovo T/X series, Dell Precisions and HP Elites where they came from.

 

[maflynn]

If Microsoft is going to fix the Surface line they need to produce a premium product, since they charge a premium price. I've owned Surface Pros, and the OG Surface book.

My biggest complaint is that Microsoft doesn't use current gen components, they're always one or two generations behind. I still remember the Surface Studio being unveiled for the first time, and it actually was using a 5400 rpm spinning drive.

 

[GMShadow]

If Microsoft is going to fix the Surface line they need to produce a premium product, since they charge a premium price. I've owned Surface Pros, and the OG Surface book.

My biggest complaint is that Microsoft doesn't use current gen components, they're always one or two generations behind. I still remember the Surface Studio being unveiled for the first time, and it actually was using a 5400 rpm spinning drive.

I actually can't blame Microsoft for being a bit gunshy - they were burned badly by being an early launch product for Skylake with the Pro 4, and it took forever to try and fix the sleep state issues caused by the CPU's new c-states.

 

[sracer]

I actually can't blame Microsoft for being a bit gunshy - they were burned badly by being an early launch product for Skylake with the Pro 4, and it took forever to try and fix the sleep state issues caused by the CPU's new c-states.

Gushing-tech-bloggers-fawning-over-Microsoft aside... Microsoft has had a long history of botching things up with the Surface line. Starting from the very first Surface devices.

I was one of the few to be a big fan of the Surface RT. Great hardware and a promising start, but poorly communicated and an even worse execution. Every system update would fix a thing that was broken, but break something else. Things were only made worse by bringing Panos Panay to lead the Surface group. That struck the deathblow for Surface, IMO.

 

[1885507]

I think it's very likely they will cancel Surface sooner rather than later, and not-so-gracefully exit the consumer PC hardware business altogether, focusing entirely on Xbox, Cloud, Windows, and first-party software. There's a big difference between money to burn, and simply burning money.

Sure, MS may keep Surface around as a boutique item similar to what Google's done with the Pixelbook (e.g., select markets, random offerings, technology demo, etc.) but overall news like this would certainly push any team, no matter how insular they may feel, to sharpen their CVs for that inevitable staffing purge to come to an underperforming product line (e.g., Windows Phone, HaloLens, Band, etc.).

 

[MBAir2010]

If Microsoft is going to fix the Surface line they need to produce a premium product, since they charge a premium price. I've owned Surface Pros, and the OG Surface book.

My biggest complaint is that Microsoft doesn't use current gen components, they're always one or two generations behind. I still remember the Surface Studio being unveiled for the first time, and it actually was using a 5400 rpm spinning drive.

wasn't in 2019 or 2020 Microsoft had this April prevention of a folding something like a tablet
and a studio surface that will change our planet?
I was amazed and excited then.

visionaries are as good as the horizon that can be very foggy!

 

[Analog Kid]

I think the Surface and the Pixel face the same problem: they're efforts to push OEMs to up their game, but they can't be too successful or those same OEMs are going to be unhappy about being in direct competition with their OS vendor.

 

[StellarVixen]

They need to do something big to get out of a rut they’re in. Canceling the surface just seems like giving up and admitting failure. It’s not a good look from a company that looks already desperate when it comes to the PC market. It really comes across in their ads.

Won’t be first time.

I still believe Windows Phone could have been saved if they didn’t give up so easily.

 

[flashflood101]

Microsoft's hardware division is doing quite well and has been for several years. It's profitable and, importantly, anchors large corporations into the Windows ecosystem.

It's unfortunate that people start discussions like this one without properly researching the topic beforehand.

 

[TechnoMonk]

Microsoft's hardware division is doing quite well and has been for several years. It's profitable and, importantly, anchors large corporations into the Windows ecosystem.

It's unfortunate that people start discussions like this one without properly researching the topic beforehand.

Read the link posted in OP. I doubt they will cancel but their hardware is tanking by Microsoft’s own guidance and results.

 

[flashflood101]

I read it.

You seem to have fundamentally misunderstood the larger picture.

Sales are down in a broad and deep market downturn.

Nevertheless, the division remains profitable and you fail to grasp that the division is of key strategic importance.

 

[AlixSPQR]

The person who is president of a web design company says the surface is the best windows product.

That doesn't say anything about its quality compared to other brand's products, though.

 

[c0ppo]

I'm with @maflynn on this one. Premium prices for a product that uses one or even two gen old CPUs....
I really liked Surface Book products. But they were way overpriced. And then replaced with Surface Studio I think? That product is a joke when compared to Surface Book.

MS offers way too many products. And they stick with old gen. Not only that, but their refusal to go with thunderbolt is unexplainable. So why would anyone purchase such an expensive device, only to get way less than competition offers?

I really think it's a shame, because Surface Book 2 that I've used for a while had the best Windows experience I have ever used. IMHO of course.