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Microsoft Surface: How an unstable start led to the reinvention of the PC


Microsoft Surface Go 2 . Laptop

Image: Microsoft

This week, Microsoft held its Microsoft Surface launch event in the fall, where the company added three new Surface models to its popular Surface lineup: Surface Laptop 5, Surface Pro 9″, Surface Studio 2+. The Surface line is very broad and covers a wide range of devices, such as smartphones, laptops, and of course 2-in-1 tablets.

Surface remains one of Microsoft’s most popular products, with revenue up 3% year-over-year to $226 million in the fourth quarter of the year. Fiscal year 2022. But that hasn’t always been the case, and the Surface represents a major shift in Microsoft’s business over the past decade. This is how Surface earned its place as one of Microsoft’s best-selling products.

Microsoft released the first iteration of its Surface tablet in 2012, launching as Surface running Windows RT and later rebranding as Surface RT. At first glance, that model looks more like recent models, with a detachable screen design, a colorful detachable keyboard, a folding kickstand, and 2-in-1 tablet/laptop functionality. first.

Also: Microsoft’s October 12 Surface Launch: What’s on tap

However, the first tablet and laptop combo had poor battery life, too little storage, and failed to meet the market for its laptop functionality. At the time, it was competing with other tablets and laptops already on the market, such as Apple’s iPad, which could offer better functionality at the same price.

Sales of this tablet were poor and although praised for its unique design, Microsoft Loss of 990 million dollars The result was in July 2013. This isn’t the first time Microsoft has failed to get the hardware right for a new product. In 2009, Microsoft phased out the Zune portable media player, which was discontinued just two years after its launch. At the time, people speculated that the Surface would have a similar fate.

“Microsoft really paved the way for PCs in a detachable form factor with Surface, but it took several iterations,” said Eric Smith, director of connected computing devices at Strategy Analytics.

Despite the shaky start, the launch of Surface was a pivotal moment for Microsoft as it took the company from simply being seen as a software vendor offering Windows for PCs. Although Microsoft has a long history of manufacturing hardware, this is the first time that Microsoft has really engaged in providing hardware that can bring clear value to the PC space.

Linn Huang, vice president of device & display research at IDC, said: “Surface is a smart effort by Microsoft. It transforms the company from just a vendor into a vendor/competitor. to its OEM partners”.

Also: Microsoft Surface in 2022: What do we want and expect?

Microsoft is also entering – and energizing – the market at a time when the PC market is waning and the popularity of options like tablets is growing. Microsoft took all the criticisms of the first iteration and exploited them to create its next models.

“In retrospect, the formula was simple: take a popular operating system capable of multitasking – Windows is running on 50% of mobile computing devices worldwide – and double that with an efficient fanless CPU. Every successful device that followed the Surface Pro 3 uses Smith said.

Compared to the first model, Microsoft has improved nearly every aspect of Surface, including changing the aspect ratio, optimizing performance, making the device lighter, and expanding the number of compatible apps.

“For many productivity users, the higher aspect ratio on most monitors they use is a welcome change in a growing sea of ​​widescreen laptops,” says Huang. “And it continues to be one of the top choices for students and creators.”

These changes have brought Surface to its current position, a competitor in the PC and tablet markets. Surface catalog has Shiny look, Surface Go, Studio Surface, Surface Duo, and more. These products range from the 2-in-1 tablet model it started with, to practical and all-in-one (AIO) laptop models.

Latest Surface Tablets, Surface Pro 9″, which will replace the Surface Pro X, retains the sleek 2-in-1 design but features major design upgrades that make it more practical than ever. For example, tablets are Intel-based and equipped with Thunderbolt 4 for faster transfer speeds and the ability to connect the tablet to a 4K display.

Microsoft Surface Pro 9 Liberty Special Edition

Microsoft Surface Pro 9 in Liberty special edition.

Image: Microsoft

“From Go to Studio, there is a price point to suit almost every user’s need,” says Huang. “And we’re continuing to see the lineup expand even further into laptops and convertibles. It embodies an iconic design that has become synonymous with the entire category.”

At the end of 2021, Microsoft entered the list of the top five tablet vendors after Apple, Samsung, Amazon and Lenovo, with 1.9 million shipments and 4% market share, according to a report released on Wednesday. Strategic analysis research.

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Source: Strategic Analysis

The Surface product portfolio has been so consolidated in the market that people have associated the Surface with any kind of detachable laptop.

“The Surface moniker itself has almost reached Kleenex status, with many in the industry calling the entire detachable category ‘Surface’,” said Huang.

The idea of ​​Surface devices becoming a catalyst for innovation in the PC market has worked: many other PC makers are now recreating the once-unique model in their products. theirs.

For example, Dell has XPS 13 2-in-1Lenovo has ThinkPad X1 Tablet 3rd Generation” and Samsung has Galaxy Book2All are based on 2-in-1 laptop/tablet model.

Microsoft must ensure that it continues to upgrade its Surface product line to stay fresh in a market that is becoming saturated with competitors.

“There is a lot of risk to staying competitive in this segment,” says Smith. “Detachables was actually 1% of the total mobile computing market when Surface Pro 3 came out; it was at 21% right now and we expect this number to grow to 25% by 2027 because of combined work and learning. Digitization has been the bigger driver of our lives ever.”

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