2023-09-22 11:33:53
With two new devices (and a third on the way), Microsoft is trying to reignite enthusiasm for its Surface laptops and hybrid tablets. But the consumer has not been convinced for some time now, while until recently, quite a few rumors have emerged behind the scenes of the trendy product presentation.
With two new Surface laptops, as well as a new Surface tablet, Microsoft revealed its new hardware to the world yesterday (early evening Belgian time). The Surface Laptop Go 3 intends to once again become the dream entry-level model with a price of around 800 euros, a battery life of 15 hours and 88 percent better performance than the previous model, among other things thanks to to Intel’s twelfth generation Alder Lake processor. This means that we have already been entitled to all the innovations, since the 12.4-inch touch screen and the front camera with a resolution of 720p have been retained, and that there are no new color options.
Le Surface Laptop 3. (Photo: Microsoft)
For heavier work
For professional users, there is the Surface Laptop Studio 2. The new version certainly retains the high price of its predecessor (around 2,500 euros), but in return offers more powerful internal hardware. Leading the way is Intel’s new Neural Processing Unit, intended to tackle machine learning tasks. Speaking of which, Microsoft also presented an extension of its Windows Copilot, the AI assistant which will now assist users in all their productivity tasks. A sort of bodybuilt Clippy for amateurs. Initially, Copilot was aimed at Microsoft’s ‘Enterprise’ customers, but during the event it became clear that a wider (business) audience will now also have access to the AI assistant.
Le Surface Laptop Studio 2. (Photo: Microsoft)
Now let’s come to the Surface 4. The new tablet was presented in a somewhat minor way: it was not part of the presentation, but a press release was distributed about it. This could mean two things. First of all, it seems that Microsoft is definitely targeting an Enterprise audience with this device. And second, of course, is the continued decline in tablet sales, which has continued since the explosion a decade ago. The ‘Surface Go 4 for Business’ integrates an Intel N200 chip, 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of storage memory. Not really spectacular.
By definition, the launch of new devices was overshadowed by one or the other element. First, the presentation took place shortly after the departure of Panos Panay, chief product officer at Microsoft, who supervised, among other things, the Windows and Surface divisions. Well-informed gossipers claim that it has now taken the plunge towards the eternal competitor Amazon. And then there’s the fact that Microsoft has long since stopped making waves with its Surface products, which were once presented with great fanfare.
The Surface 4 tablet. (Photo: Microsoft)
Decrease of sales
For more than a decade now, Microsoft has no longer been exclusively a software publisher. Even though the company never really reached new heights on the hardware front: Surface tablets and laptops never became anything more than a niche product, and the Xbox gaming console remained the eternal second or third in each hardware cycle for more than twenty years, behind Sony PlayStation and sometimes even Nintendo.
This already timid market position is further exacerbated by a significant decline in sales during Microsoft’s last fiscal year. In 2022, the Devices division saw a drop in turnover of no less than 39 percent. This division also covers Xbox hardware, which fell ‘only’ 13 percent. HoloLens glasses are also part of the Devices division, but their sales are too small to have a major impact overall. It goes without saying that all computing devices are currently experiencing sales difficulties, but the decline in Microsoft’s Devices department is much greater than Gartner’s figures for the entire market, since the latter only declined by 12 percent in 2022. Microsoft CFO Amy Hood also spoke of a ‘continued decline’ for Surface products during her presentation of annual figures last January.
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