Microsoft said to be terminating its Surface tablet line

According to a report published on Thursday that cites sources from the upstream supply chain, Microsoft is planning to drop its Surface tablet line. This comes after sales of the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 have come in lower than expected. Microsoft had high hopes for the tablet, but larger-screened smartphones have recently been taking business away from tablets.

The first two generations of Surface slates are said to have produced losses of $1.7 billion for the manufacturer. Microsoft is now expected to ship less than 1 million units of the Surface Pro 3, which was aimed at enterprise users. In addition, sources say that Microsoft is backing away from developing the next-gen Surface tablets.

Microsoft had been expected to unveil the Surface mini at the same time that the Surface Pro 3 was introduced last May. But the manufacturer's lack of confidence in the product led it to cancel production of the model. Now, it seems that Microsoft has lost confidence in the whole line.


source: DigiTimes