This was reported over on The Register that Lenovo and other oems are aware that Microsoft will be exiting the PC hardware market by 2019. I've cancelled my pre-orders of the Xbox X regular and Scorpio editions as I think MS is avoiding lower margin hardware markets under Nadella, in preference to the huge revenue growth they can get from Cloud.
This inevitably puts a question mark over Surface and Xbox and points to the massive infighting within MS on their future direction. Regarding gaming, Nadella has only said that he's "joining the dots", whatever that means.
Despite MS claiming the Surface death rumours aren't necessarily true, who on earth is likely to believe them given their past form? We're going into the holiday season with Surface ads everywhere, but we've been here many before. Kin, Sidekick, Windows Phone 7, 8, 10? The Surface is priced high enough that their volume sales are nothing that approaches Lenovo's but the effect on the PC market, is that Surface is perceived to be the Windows "no-compromise" equivalent to the MacBook line from Apple, and that damages the rest of the PC market by comparison.
Microsoft always has complete commitment to a product and a market...until it doesn't. On a phone that's a less than $1000 gamble, on a Surface it's up to $4000 and I don't think many people would want to take that chance until MS clarifies in a way that is not nuanced that it is 100% behind the surface. MS only originally developed the Surface line to inspire OEMs to not make such awful, dated, bargain-basement hardware which was making Windows look bad. Now they have improved somewhat, there is logically no reason for Surface to exist.
The cost of servicing a consumer hardware business are huge, including R&D, coping with the high volume of returns and defects, the loss of reputation if a product goes horribly wrong. The cost of marketing and shipping the low numbers the Surface sells, means that it's not a great money spinner in terms of profit for MS compared with lower hanging fruits which are far less risky and Surface mainly exists to provide rare visibility in the consumer space which it now lacks completely in the mobile market.
Yep, their future is services. As everything moves to the cloud they will eventually stop making hardware altogether, probably spinning it off as a separate division or just selling the naming rights to someone.
I suspect traditional software isn't too far behind. Windows OS and Microsoft Office will be around for awhile, but server operating systems will probably disappear from the consumer market. 2016 Server is heavily focused on cloud computing, as was 2012 R2. Windows 10 doesn't even need a local domain controller...I have a number of clients with an Azure-hosted server running Exchange/Office365, single sign-on AD, file server, etc. It is even running a Hyper-V VM to host a QuickBooks 2016 server. We're talking about a company of 13 PC's and 15 employees that's not spending $2500 on annual IT services from Microsoft. That's what they would have spent on entry-level server HARDWARE, excluding OS, licensing, data backup devices, UPS protection, a security platform, and someone to set it all up and maintain it.
Surface hardware was one of their fastest revenue growers. Windows Phone was a loss prospect. I don't see why they'd cut a positive revenue stream just because they cut a negative one.
Consider the source of these rumors and consider what Nutella has said as well. I don't believe the Surface line is going anywhere. The Surface line has forced the OEM's to up their game. It's a Halo product that does more for mindshare than most also ran products put out by the likes of Dell, Lenovo, etc.MS relied on the OEM's before and it has burned them on categories from phones to tablets, etc.
Given the death of the non-pro Surface, the mediocre updates to the Pro, the half-assed nature of the Studio, and the non-appearance of the Phone, it seems obvious that the Surface line is being run down.
With the complete face plant they did trying to move Surface into enterprise and SMB I would not be surprised. I bet we'll see radio silence through the holiday season and then big cuts to Surface and the brick and mortar Microsoft store network.
"Microsoft denies that it has ceased development of its Windows 10 Mobile platform and says that it intends to continue to development of the OS and supporting its existing Lumia smartphones."
Hi Anton, did this come directly from Microsoft and after Joe Belfiore's tweet over the weekend? If so then it's crazy that the head of the product group is announcing the death of Windows Phone while the company is contradicting him.
Honestly, this whole thing makes me so mad. Yes, plenty of you wonder "why not just use Android or iPhone," but for me it's extremely straightforward. I don't want a dumbphone, Android is too distracting, and iOS is too constraining. Windows was the platform in the middle. I'm set for a while, as I just got the excellent Alcatel Idol 4S a few months back. Nevertheless, I now have to treat this phone with extreme caution. I may even end up buying another handset as backup.
I liked the idea of the X3's docking capability, but the same can be done using an Android phone if the USB port supports the right standards or you don't mind latency from something like Miracast. You lose access to some software, but the basics are already there. Then again, if I absolutely had to, I could live with a crappy budget Android as my only compute device even without attaching it to an external screen or interface devices via bluetooth.
ex-windows phone here (3 years). It really did have good potential, the OS was fresh and the home screen was better than the one on ios and android imho. But the amount of U-turns and abandoning MS does is really worrying. Windows phone 7, windows RT, windows mobile 10, etc.. all of them leaving loyal users in the dust. They certainly lost my trust.
W7 LG Quantum > W10 Lumia 640 current. (going on 7years for my wife) Just please release a Win10 Launcher for Android that mimics the UI of WM10. Then my wife can finally have a real podcast player and our apps will be interoperable.
It always amazes me the hate for the Windows phone from Android and Apple users. I'm #4 of the 5 Windows Mobile users out there and when we get done with our Al-Anon meeting and baking brownies for Colin Kaepernick so he can gain inner strength I'll gone using my HP Elite x3 and continue to be very happy about it. There's plenty of life left in it. It is a shame Microsoft has chosen to devote all their time improving Windows via Android. I've seen several friends who've loaded their devices with everything Microsoft. The functionality is there. And if it is not to your liking there are thousands of other apps in that universe. So enjoy your Androids. Worship your iPhone's but understand that we are all losing here. The Cell Phone environment is a boring wasteland of copy cat handsets. The consumer is almost completely tied to the OS that runs the phone. AT&T stores look like Samsung and Apple satellite kiosks. I'll keep on using my crappy Microsoft HP handset. I'll keep enjoying something that's a little different. I'll enjoy that while it lasts and then I'll probably buy a BlackBerry Motion and pretend that's not an Android phone even though it is.
What a pity... Microsoft deliberately abandoned the Windows on Mobile platform in favour of another adventure - Andromeda and OneCore OS. Another reboot, and even more disappointed users than ever. The upcoming Surface Phone (if any) won't have almost any apps for a mobile form factor. However, all remaining users on Windows 10 Mobile (like those with HP Elite x3) will be supported until late 2019. http://www.windowsphonearea.com/windows-10-mobile-... This is admirable, but not enough - we want apps.
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osxandwindows - Wednesday, October 11, 2017 - link
I bet surface products are next on the chopping block.sorten - Wednesday, October 11, 2017 - link
That wouldn't make any sense given how much money Microsoft is making on the Surface brand.robinthakur - Thursday, October 12, 2017 - link
This was reported over on The Register that Lenovo and other oems are aware that Microsoft will be exiting the PC hardware market by 2019. I've cancelled my pre-orders of the Xbox X regular and Scorpio editions as I think MS is avoiding lower margin hardware markets under Nadella, in preference to the huge revenue growth they can get from Cloud.This inevitably puts a question mark over Surface and Xbox and points to the massive infighting within MS on their future direction. Regarding gaming, Nadella has only said that he's "joining the dots", whatever that means.
Despite MS claiming the Surface death rumours aren't necessarily true, who on earth is likely to believe them given their past form? We're going into the holiday season with Surface ads everywhere, but we've been here many before. Kin, Sidekick, Windows Phone 7, 8, 10? The Surface is priced high enough that their volume sales are nothing that approaches Lenovo's but the effect on the PC market, is that Surface is perceived to be the Windows "no-compromise" equivalent to the MacBook line from Apple, and that damages the rest of the PC market by comparison.
Microsoft always has complete commitment to a product and a market...until it doesn't. On a phone that's a less than $1000 gamble, on a Surface it's up to $4000 and I don't think many people would want to take that chance until MS clarifies in a way that is not nuanced that it is 100% behind the surface. MS only originally developed the Surface line to inspire OEMs to not make such awful, dated, bargain-basement hardware which was making Windows look bad. Now they have improved somewhat, there is logically no reason for Surface to exist.
The cost of servicing a consumer hardware business are huge, including R&D, coping with the high volume of returns and defects, the loss of reputation if a product goes horribly wrong. The cost of marketing and shipping the low numbers the Surface sells, means that it's not a great money spinner in terms of profit for MS compared with lower hanging fruits which are far less risky and Surface mainly exists to provide rare visibility in the consumer space which it now lacks completely in the mobile market.
Samus - Friday, October 13, 2017 - link
Yep, their future is services. As everything moves to the cloud they will eventually stop making hardware altogether, probably spinning it off as a separate division or just selling the naming rights to someone.I suspect traditional software isn't too far behind. Windows OS and Microsoft Office will be around for awhile, but server operating systems will probably disappear from the consumer market. 2016 Server is heavily focused on cloud computing, as was 2012 R2. Windows 10 doesn't even need a local domain controller...I have a number of clients with an Azure-hosted server running Exchange/Office365, single sign-on AD, file server, etc. It is even running a Hyper-V VM to host a QuickBooks 2016 server. We're talking about a company of 13 PC's and 15 employees that's not spending $2500 on annual IT services from Microsoft. That's what they would have spent on entry-level server HARDWARE, excluding OS, licensing, data backup devices, UPS protection, a security platform, and someone to set it all up and maintain it.
Gigaplex - Wednesday, October 11, 2017 - link
What Surface products? They never released a Surface phone. The Surface laptops and tablets use the desktop version of Windows, not the phone version.tipoo - Wednesday, October 11, 2017 - link
Surface hardware was one of their fastest revenue growers. Windows Phone was a loss prospect. I don't see why they'd cut a positive revenue stream just because they cut a negative one.Flunk - Wednesday, October 11, 2017 - link
There is a rumor going around that Microsoft has already ceased developing new Surface products and they're just running out the pipeline now.Manch - Thursday, October 12, 2017 - link
Consider the source of these rumors and consider what Nutella has said as well. I don't believe the Surface line is going anywhere. The Surface line has forced the OEM's to up their game. It's a Halo product that does more for mindshare than most also ran products put out by the likes of Dell, Lenovo, etc.MS relied on the OEM's before and it has burned them on categories from phones to tablets, etc.damianrobertjones - Thursday, October 12, 2017 - link
Already confirmed to be a rumour and NOT fact.damianrobertjones - Thursday, October 12, 2017 - link
Microsoft, this week, confirmed that they will NOT be chopping the Surface line. Nice try.Meteor2 - Monday, October 16, 2017 - link
Well they would say that, wouldn't they?Given the death of the non-pro Surface, the mediocre updates to the Pro, the half-assed nature of the Studio, and the non-appearance of the Phone, it seems obvious that the Surface line is being run down.
Gunbuster - Thursday, October 12, 2017 - link
With the complete face plant they did trying to move Surface into enterprise and SMB I would not be surprised. I bet we'll see radio silence through the holiday season and then big cuts to Surface and the brick and mortar Microsoft store network.sorten - Wednesday, October 11, 2017 - link
"Microsoft denies that it has ceased development of its Windows 10 Mobile platform and says that it intends to continue to development of the OS and supporting its existing Lumia smartphones."Hi Anton, did this come directly from Microsoft and after Joe Belfiore's tweet over the weekend? If so then it's crazy that the head of the product group is announcing the death of Windows Phone while the company is contradicting him.
WorldWithoutMadness - Wednesday, October 11, 2017 - link
You'll know the answer later this month at MS's London eventsorten - Wednesday, October 11, 2017 - link
I'm interested in Anton's source at Microsoft.Hurr Durr - Thursday, October 12, 2017 - link
What MS means by continuing development is the security updates will keep coming, but nothing more. So there is a year of life in my 735 I guess.Barilla - Thursday, October 12, 2017 - link
I'm sure all five win 10 mobile users are very sad to hear this.damianrobertjones - Thursday, October 12, 2017 - link
There's more than 5 Windows 10 mobile users at this company alone. Why bother posting such sarcasm?peevee - Thursday, October 12, 2017 - link
Because it is essentially true, the precise number notwithstanding.lmcd - Thursday, October 12, 2017 - link
I'm sure all 6 Android users agree with you!See how stupid this gets?
StevoLincolnite - Friday, October 13, 2017 - link
I used to be a Windows Phone user. Until I wasn't.Microsoft didn't iterate on hardware fast enough or significantly enough.
maximumGPU - Friday, October 13, 2017 - link
dude, cheer up.. it's just a joke.lmcd - Thursday, October 12, 2017 - link
Honestly, this whole thing makes me so mad. Yes, plenty of you wonder "why not just use Android or iPhone," but for me it's extremely straightforward. I don't want a dumbphone, Android is too distracting, and iOS is too constraining. Windows was the platform in the middle. I'm set for a while, as I just got the excellent Alcatel Idol 4S a few months back. Nevertheless, I now have to treat this phone with extreme caution. I may even end up buying another handset as backup.Lolimaster - Friday, October 13, 2017 - link
Never ally to MSFT for it's "new" endeavors, will make you lose money and big money sooner or later.Hurr Durr - Friday, October 13, 2017 - link
Just like AMD.BrokenCrayons - Friday, October 13, 2017 - link
I liked the idea of the X3's docking capability, but the same can be done using an Android phone if the USB port supports the right standards or you don't mind latency from something like Miracast. You lose access to some software, but the basics are already there. Then again, if I absolutely had to, I could live with a crappy budget Android as my only compute device even without attaching it to an external screen or interface devices via bluetooth.maximumGPU - Friday, October 13, 2017 - link
ex-windows phone here (3 years). It really did have good potential, the OS was fresh and the home screen was better than the one on ios and android imho. But the amount of U-turns and abandoning MS does is really worrying. Windows phone 7, windows RT, windows mobile 10, etc.. all of them leaving loyal users in the dust. They certainly lost my trust.DroidTomTom - Friday, October 13, 2017 - link
W7 LG Quantum > W10 Lumia 640 current. (going on 7years for my wife) Just please release a Win10 Launcher for Android that mimics the UI of WM10. Then my wife can finally have a real podcast player and our apps will be interoperable.SBD.3 - Wednesday, November 15, 2017 - link
It always amazes me the hate for the Windows phone from Android and Apple users. I'm #4 of the 5 Windows Mobile users out there and when we get done with our Al-Anon meeting and baking brownies for Colin Kaepernick so he can gain inner strength I'll gone using my HP Elite x3 and continue to be very happy about it. There's plenty of life left in it.It is a shame Microsoft has chosen to devote all their time improving Windows via Android. I've seen several friends who've loaded their devices with everything Microsoft. The functionality is there. And if it is not to your liking there are thousands of other apps in that universe. So enjoy your Androids. Worship your iPhone's but understand that we are all losing here. The Cell Phone environment is a boring wasteland of copy cat handsets. The consumer is almost completely tied to the OS that runs the phone. AT&T stores look like Samsung and Apple satellite kiosks.
I'll keep on using my crappy Microsoft HP handset. I'll keep enjoying something that's a little different. I'll enjoy that while it lasts and then I'll probably buy a BlackBerry Motion and pretend that's not an Android phone even though it is.
michael366 - Tuesday, February 20, 2018 - link
What a pity... Microsoft deliberately abandoned the Windows on Mobile platform in favour of another adventure - Andromeda and OneCore OS. Another reboot, and even more disappointed users than ever. The upcoming Surface Phone (if any) won't have almost any apps for a mobile form factor. However, all remaining users on Windows 10 Mobile (like those with HP Elite x3) will be supported until late 2019. http://www.windowsphonearea.com/windows-10-mobile-...This is admirable, but not enough - we want apps.