Surface Devices

[Dave245]

Really interesting take on the future of Surface from Paul Thurrott (it’s behind a pay wall but can be circumvented due to the ability to view 3 free articles a month): https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/microsoft-surface/229261/should-we-be-worried-about-surface

Even in a down quarter, the Mac managed to generate almost 4 times the revenue of the Surface line, which competes in the same price segment. It’s interesting that despite a much greater evolution of the Surface product mix, Microsoft seems unable to grow the business.

The Surface line is nearly at $2 Billion ("Microsoft reported $1.98 billion in Surface sales alone")

Microsoft's Surface sales near $2bn, but Azure cloud business is growing faster - TechCentral.ie

Cloud, cloud, cloud, followed by Office, gaming, Surface and then Windows: By now, Microsoft has laid out its priorities, and the financial results Microsoft reported Wednesday afternoon reflected this. For consumers, the high point of Microsoft’s fourth-quarter calendar 2019 results was the...

www.techcentral.ie

 

[maflynn]

Microsoft seems unable to grow the business.

The same can be said for Apple, they've incurred shrinking sales not growing ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[AndyMacAndMic]

Really interesting take on the future of Surface from Paul Thurrott (it’s behind a pay wall but can be circumvented due to the ability to view 3 free articles a month): https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/microsoft-surface/229261/should-we-be-worried-about-surface

Even in a down quarter, the Mac managed to generate almost 4 times the revenue of the Surface line, which competes in the same price segment. It’s interesting that despite a much greater evolution of the Surface product mix, Microsoft seems unable to grow the business.

IMO It seems apples and oranges are compared.

Apple is the only one producing and selling the Mac.
Microsoft is one of many manufacturers selling PC's and Surface like devices with Windows on it.

Microsoft originally made the Surface line as a halo product to encourage other OEMs to innovate and make something beyond the cheap Windows boxes they tended to make. In that aspect MS succeeded. It was never Microsoft's intention to compete with those OEMs or to conquer the market with their own Surface devices.

In other words, you should not compare sales between Apple and Microsoft only, but sales between Apple and all other OEMs (including MS) who make Surface like/Touch screen laptop devices with Windows on it.

 

[Dave245]

Does anyone think Microsoft will make hardware changes with the Surface Book 3? Maybe reduce the bezels like with the Pro X?

It will be interesting to see what they do with it, after leaving it for the last couple of years. Does it even still have a market? The Surface Laptop exists now.

 

[raqball]

Does anyone think Microsoft will make hardware changes with the Surface Book 3? Maybe reduce the bezels like with the Pro X?

That would be nice. I'd also like to see them change the screen dock attachment mechanism to make it easier and smoother to detach and reattach..

 

[KarmaRocket]

Microsoft to combine its Windows client and hardware teams under Chief Product Officer Panos Panay

Interesting to see this finally happen. Hopefully we can see some good things come out of this. Something like Continuity would be nice.

Microsoft really needs to up their game when it comes to basic apps. They need better photos, music apps and a unified messenger (SMS/MMS/RCS/Video) that's seamless across Android, Windows and maybe even iOS/Mac would be amazing. Even Google hasn't done that yet. Maybe a lot harder to do.

They need to create their own system of apps that help their hardware shine. Panay might be the right guy for the job.

 

[raqball]

^^^ Agree

Windows phone was awesome but what killed it was the lack of apps.... The Nokia Lumina Icon is still my hand down favorite phone of all time..

 

[derekamoss]

Microsoft to combine its Windows client and hardware teams under Chief Product Officer Panos Panay

Interesting to see this finally happen. Hopefully we can see some good things come out of this. Something like Continuity would be nice.

Microsoft really needs to up their game when it comes to basic apps. They need better photos, music apps and a unified messenger (SMS/MMS/RCS/Video) that's seamless across Android, Windows and maybe even iOS/Mac would be amazing. Even Google hasn't done that yet. Maybe a lot harder to do.

They need to create their own system of apps that help their hardware shine. Panay might be the right guy for the job.

Honestly I feel they have already done this with Windows 8 and Surface. Windows 8 felt like it was specifically made for the surface.

 

[kazmac]

Agreed on the above about Windows.

 

[TopherMan12]

MS really grabbed my attention when they revealed Duo and Neo. Duo very well may be my first non-Apple smart phone since I owned the Galaxy S7. But like @KarmaRocket I would love to see something similar to Continuity in Windows. Since MS is moving to Android for Duo, which is smart, then that should give them some freedom to customize the Windows experience on a phone while bringing in a rich library of apps. I can certainly see Microsoft being able to carve out its own Windows/Android ecosystem much like what Apple has done with MacOS/iOS/PadOS.

I'm more skeptical of Neo than Duo as I am not a fan of Window tablet mode. Hopefully MS finds a better way of making the UI behave more like a dedicated tablet than it currently does. Still, it looks like an awesome device and I can't wait to check it out.

 

[Dave245]

That would be nice. I'd also like to see them change the screen dock attachment mechanism to make it easier and smoother to detach and reattach..

I think that would be a great idea. Like an instant detach and reattachment.

I think that Microsoft could reduce the bezels on the Surface Book 3 and make the screen larger. Similar to Apple’s 16” MacBook Pro.

maybe also increase battery life.

 

[Dave245]

I don’t know how true it is, but according to this podcast Panos Panay has tried to get a job at Apple . If that is true I wonder why? And how worrying it is for the future of Surface, after all he is known as the Surface master.

 

[Queen6]

Microsoft doesn’t have that “Apple Status & Mystique”...

That was lost years ago when Apple sold out to the $, Apple status my arse LOL...

Apple literally forced me to shift all to W10 due to weak, unreliable hardware and poor programming. Money talks, excuses don't cut it in the professional realm...

Q-6
[automerge]1581015537[/automerge]

Mystique has been replaced with bafflement over Apple's sad deterioration with regards to quality control, workmanship, caring about the customer, transparency, coherent choice of both hardware and software features etc.

Apple only cares about itself and the shareholder it's blatantly obvious at this point. The customers being way down the line...

Q-6

 

[raqball]

Apple literally forced me to shift all to W10 due to weak, unreliable hardware and poor programming. Money talks, excuses don't cut it in the professional realm...

Q-6

At least with the 16" they took a step in the right direction with the keyboard and getting away from the thinner and lighter demanding Starbucks crowd... Now they need to dump that gimmicky and pile of poo TouchBar and fix that trash OS they are calling Catalina..

 

[TopherMan12]

That was lost years ago when Apple sold out to the $, Apple status my arse LOL...

Apple literally forced me to shift all to W10 due to weak, unreliable hardware and poor programming. Money talks, excuses don't cut it in the professional realm...

Q-6
[automerge]1581015537[/automerge]


Apple only cares about itself and the shareholder it's blatantly obvious at this point. The customers being way down the line...

Q-6

You could say that of just about any tech company though, including Microsoft. They are beholden to the stockholder. This is not new.

Apple does still have a mystique and a status that MS doesn't have. Has it taken a hit over the past few years? Absolutely. But it is still there.

 

[jrichards1408]

At least with the 16" they took a step in the right direction with the keyboard and getting away from the thinner and lighter demanding Starbucks crowd... Now they need to dump that gimmicky and pile of poo TouchBar and fix that trash OS they are calling Catalina..

The keyboard they reverted from the old 2013 model lol.

 

[TopherMan12]

The keyboard they reverted from the old 2013 model lol.

Isn't that pretty much the standard design for laptop keyboards? Scissor vs butterfly.

 

[Dave245]

It looks like the Surface Duo is out in the wild. Not sure if it's developers or Microsoft workers using the device out in the wild.

 

[kazmac]

At least with the 16" they took a step in the right direction with the keyboard and getting away from the thinner and lighter demanding Starbucks crowd... Now they need to dump that gimmicky and pile of poo TouchBar and fix that trash OS they are calling Catalina..

....and stop locking customers out of their computers with keyboard identification now too (esp. when it is an Apple keyboard. Hey, Apple I am not on a laptop. After this, I refuse to spend more money on a newer Apple keyboard that may not even work. To say nothing of other problems with that iMac).

As soon as unexpected bills clear, I am buying another PC and a Wacom tablet.

If MS gets their stuff together and releases a solid SB3 or a smaller, more affordable Surface Studio with newer internals, I'll try them again.

 

[TopherMan12]

It looks like the Surface Duo is out in the wild. Not sure if it's developers or Microsoft workers using the device out in the wild. View attachment 892985

 

[Dave245]

Me too, apparently Microsoft might be launching the Duo earlier as it's further along in development.

Microsoft Surface Duo spotted in the wild with possible front-facing flash

We've got our first stealth shot of a Surface Duo on public transport.

www.windowscentral.com

 

[Dave245]

Ok so at the very BIG risk of making myself sound like a complete idiot! i'm going to admit that i miss my Surface Pro 6. I do think that i was hasty in selling it. While i do like my iPad Pro, it has it's limits and one of the things i miss about the Surface Pro is the kickstand and the full desktop experience

The Surface Pro X is appealing BUT i'm not sure it's all that powerful. I'm holding out until the Surface Neo and Duo are released.

 

[LeeW]

I was excited about the X but I have yet to see anything more than a lukewarm reception towards it and those that did buy it was not that impressed for a device that will cost you $1,250 for the base unit with keyboard and pen.

The Duo is the most interesting for me, it makes sense for a dual-screen device, not so sure about the Neo, I can't see it replacing iPads or tablets in general due to the break in the middle. Their target market is the business user rather than home user I suspect but even then the device is small even for business users.

 

[Dave245]

I was excited about the X but I have yet to see anything more than a lukewarm reception towards it and those that did buy it was not that impressed for a device that will cost you $1,250 for the base unit with keyboard and pen.

The Duo is the most interesting for me, it makes sense for a dual-screen device, not so sure about the Neo, I can't see it replacing iPads or tablets in general due to the break in the middle. Their target market is the business user rather than home user I suspect but even then the device is small even for business users.

yea ive read the reviews for the Surface Pro X, most do not recommend especially at that price point. The Surface Duo is interesting, I’m not sure if it will replace my iPhone, however I’m going to give it a try. I plan on keeping my current iPhone 11 Pro Max, and buying the Surface Duo when it comes out over here in the U.K. if I find that it can replace my iPhone and I use it a lot more, then the iPhone will be sold.

I do also find the Neo interestin, I’m not sure if it will replace my iPad Pro. However I’ve had issues with my 2017 iPad Pro and now its replacement which Apple sent out to me in 2018 (another 2017 iPad Pro).

 

[LeeW]

Seriously, less people are buying Macs

Are they? I thought from the overall numbers, sales were still pretty strong when you even it out and take into account the usual cyclic demand. Not defending sales numbers or Apple, but they will never maintain growth every single quarter, something has to give.

The 16", the probable 14", a re-design of the iMac and there will be another surge. They need to sort out OS gate now of course.

Their halo has slipped, no doubt, but people, even me who swore off them again recently come back. Those who are the most negative on here still say "never again" but end that with "they will have to do a lot to get me back".