End of surface?

[bmclachlan]

Has anyone seen the article online from the Sunday Express (posted on October 8, 2017) indicating that Microsoft could scrap their Surface line of devices in just over a year's time? I find this hard to believe. The analyst is Steve Brazier, who is chief executive of the analyst firm Canalys. He cites the reason that Microsoft is not making a sufficient return and they want to focus totally on software.

I would assume that, should this be true, Microsoft might try to sell the Surface line to someone who is dedicated to the computer business.

 

[larryg-aia]

they finally get something not only right...but almost perfect, totally surpasses anything from Apple....and then abandon it? Say it ain't so.

 

[tuchas]

That article is crap, already debunked by Microsoft. Too much investment to just drop it.

 

[jnjroach]

They won't because the have finally made inroads into the enterprise space and have just implemented the infrastructure to support the customers.

 

[jnjroach]

Panos Panay's take on the article - Microsoft's Panos Panay calls predictions of ending Surface hardware 'tabloid rumor'

 

[hughlle]

Microsoft hit the payload with their perserverance on the surface line. Mocked relentlessly by near everyone and never given a real look in by anyone. All of a sudden then bring out the SP3 and the hardware manufacturers are falling over themselves trying to get in on the gig. Just using my surfaces and you know that microsoft have themselves a bit of a golden goose, no way would they have abandoned it. It's also one of the first product lines in a long time that has really given Apple and their users food for thought. Prior to surface, Apple never sw reason to break a sweat, and now they're are being forced to compete, but the best they can do is stick pen support on an ipad. Not many people can upset the Apple dominated market quite like MS managed to.

 

[sharpuser]

Apple MacBooks still lack touch input. I have fingerprints all over my Mac screens from forgetting that. So I return to my Surface Book often.

 

[tuchas]

It's funny, but I abandoned my work MacBook Pro for my SP2017. People are walking by me wondering why I am using my Surface. Plugged into my dock, powering 2 monitors and more powerful than most of the laptops in my office. Those that have the latest MBPs with the touchbar say they are crap and quality has gone downhill. I'll stick with the Surface.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

they finally get something not only right...but almost perfect, totally surpasses anything from Apple....and then abandon it? Say it ain't so.

SP is far from perfect. The Windows interface isn't ideal for a tablet, and Windows 10 has way too many problems. Only the other day my stylus tracking was off so I used the Calibrate tool, and then also calibrated touches which was a mistake. Had to check online why my touches were screwed up and how to fix that (clear calibration). Then there's the stupid of offering lots of alternative display resolutions to account for software not playing nice with the super high res screen, but not providing a single 3:2 aspect option for their 3:2 aspect screen, fixed by looking online and finding a tool to create your own display resolution options.

It's an okay device, good bang for the buck, but well shy of the perfect tablet computing platform. As long as its decently profitable, MS will continue with it. I think it's also a reasonable flagship product line for building brand value.

 

[DavidZ]

While I agree with everything that's been said here, I think you're all missing one very important (perhaps the most important) reason why MS will keep the Surface line. Whether or not Surface makes a big or small contribution to the bottom line is insignificant compared to the impact it has on Windows 10 market share, which makes a huge contribution to the bottom line. In addition to demonstrating the capabilities of Windows 10 (which before Surface, the other PC vendors were either unable or unwilling to exploit), the Surface line stands as a design benchmark for the other vendors to emulate and/or exceed. Without Surface, Windows 10's market share would be significantly less and that hits the bottom line big time. Surface is a proof of concept for Windows 10. Not to mention all the other services MS generates by the dominance of Win 10.

 

[sharpuser]

The corporate world is finally jumping from pre-Windows 8 to Windows 10, largely because of Surface, as @DavidZ suggests.