News - Combined total Microsoft Surface sales add up to just 1.5 million

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Figures break down into just over 1 million Surface RT sales and about 400k Pro sales.

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Read more.

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With PC sales in a downturn, impacting sales of the Windows 8 OS, and its Surface tablet initiative stalling, what is next for Microsoft? Perhaps it will hasten the launch of a more affordable Surface mini tablet range or decide to sell a version of Microsoft Office to the throng of willing iOS punters...

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Hmm, a Surface mini might be an interesting product - especially if it follows Android pricing rather than that of iOS devices.

Speaking of Android - Office for iOS might be interesting also, but I'll argue that things like the Asus Transformer make an Android-one more sensible. Or better still Microsoft - DO BOTH! :D

I'd have been interested in the Surface, but the pricing was just far too high for what it actually is - an untested platform with little app store support. If I'd been the VP in charge I would have pushed to do it "at cost" (or pretty near) for the first couple of months to get some market share. If they'd launched a Surface at around £200 then I definitely would have bought one - but at double that I can get a lot better deal elsewhere, (Android cheaper/more models, iPad more app support).

This does not look good for MS or Windows 8.

Next stop - Windows 8 watches :p

Way too expensive for what it is. If it was £200 I might have replaced my Xoom 2 but at double that cost absolutely no chance.

I did purchase two copies of Win 8 pro for my laptops one of which has a touch screen and the other does not. It is WAY better on a touch screen and a little bit annoying on a normal laptop. I bought them for £24.99 each as an upgrade from Vista and Windows 7 and at that price they are OK. Any more expensive and I wouldn't have upgraded.

There's supposed to be a new OS coming soon codenamed Blue to succeed Win 8 so I'll wait till that arrives to see what that brings. BY all accounts it will be a free upgrade for Win 8 users.

And how many units of the last Asus Ultrabook or Samsungs Ativ Smart Pro sold? Numbers mean little without context, the Surface Pro should be compared against its ilk not ARM tablets. Its double the price of most ARM tablets for a start, totally different class of device.

1 million RT Surfaces sounds pants but again how does that compare to other RT devices? Looks like RT might be selling poorly against iPad but really need to compare total RT device sales across all manufacturers to see how well MS are doing, considering RT is a new OS with many of the same disadvantages as iOS or Android its not surprising if it hasn't stormed the market in its first 2 quarters.

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Originally Posted by kingpotnoodle

And how many units of the last Asus Ultrabook or Samsungs Ativ Smart Pro sold? Numbers mean little without context, the Surface Pro should be compared against its ilk not ARM tablets. Its double the price of most ARM tablets for a start, totally different class of device.

1 million RT Surfaces sounds pants but again how does that compare to other RT devices? Looks like RT might be selling poorly against iPad but really need to compare total RT device sales across all manufacturers to see how well MS are doing, considering RT is a new OS with many of the same disadvantages as iOS or Android its not surprising if it hasn't stormed the market in its first 2 quarters.

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Also what are these figures over?

If Apple sold some 22M iPads (all classes, mini to stupidly expensive) in the same period, selling 1M RTs isn't bad for a start. Considering it was direct sales only for a month, the lack of advertising and retail presence. To be selling at 1/22th isn't a bad start.

The worry is the trend. If people aren't going to be buying them more and more. I wouldn't be surprised if they had a massive start demand and nothing since.

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Originally Posted by TheAnimus

The worry is the trend. If people aren't going to be buying them more and more. I wouldn't be surprised if they had a massive start demand and nothing since.

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The problem is that there should have been a significant pent up demand from people who refused to go Apple, dislike Android, and were waiting for a kosher Windows alternative.

That pent up demand appears not to have been very demanding. Though to be fair the number units sold still surprises me. I expected far fewer, given the RT's many weaknesses and the Pro's many dollars.

It's a shame, because as someone who reluctantly bought an iPad and enjoys owning it more than I expected, I would like to have an excuse to replace it with an MS pad. So far, just as with Win8 for desktop, they have only given me reasons /not/ to buy.

Not good, but look at their plan B, rental. Office 365 for example. Monthly subscription helps them against declining sales. How long before they find a way to do similar with Windows? If normal sales keep reducing it bet it won't be long.

I had a Surface RT (Work) for a couple of weeks. It was dog slow and couldn't hold onto a WiFi signal to save it's life. It was so bad I gave up a free S-RT and bought an Ipad out of my own pocket.

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Originally Posted by TheAnimus

Also what are these figures over?

If Apple sold some 22M iPads (all classes, mini to stupidly expensive) in the same period, selling 1M RTs isn't bad for a start. Considering it was direct sales only for a month, the lack of advertising and retail presence. To be selling at 1/22th isn't a bad start.

The worry is the trend. If people aren't going to be buying them more and more. I wouldn't be surprised if they had a massive start demand and nothing since.

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Yeah 1M RTs didn't sound that bad given the sales model and the fact that Microsoft have solid same-ecosystem competition (from other RT device and regular Windows 8 devices) and weren't the cheapest, unlike Apple who are the only vendor of iOS based devices. Same reason why single Android models will probably not outsell the iPad/iPhone by much or often.

Personally even if you must have a Windows tablet I don't see the point in Surface RT unless you are allergic to x86 or want free Office, the Windows 8 tablets with an Atom CPU are by all accounts faster than Surface RT and mostly as good on battery with the added benefit of compatibility with the whole x86 software catalogue so you can at least *try* to run things you're used to.

In any case raw sales isn't the best measure of success - how much PROFIT did it make? That's the key. If Apple has shown anything it's that you don't have to be the biggest seller by unit volume to make the most money, you just need sky high margins.

Apple sold 3 Million ipads in the first quarter and a further 4 Million in the second after it's initial release, with no competition.
I'd be pretty chuffed with 1M RTs sold. But they spent such a colossal amount on marketing, it won't be profitable for a while.