As part of the annual Snapdragon Summit event, representatives from Portal Windows Center Interviewed Brett Ostrum, Vice President of Microsoft Surface Series Products. He also explained why the software giant didn’t release a Surface laptop this year that could compete with Apple’s MacBook Neo.
Image source: Microsoft
“Let me start with this: We have never released a gaming PC. The reason is that the OEMs are doing a good job in this space. They meet the needs of their customers and it makes no sense for Surface to enter this space.[…]We knew about Neo before it hit the market. Which begs the question: do Surface devices really work in this space versus Neo-related devices?– Sources quote Ostrum as saying.
This comment confirms that Microsoft sees no need to release a device in the Surface line that can compete with the MacBook Neo, as the Windows PC maker already offers worthy alternatives. As typical examples of such devices, we can recall the Dell XPS 13 and Asus ZenBook 14 laptops, which cost roughly the same as the MacBook Neo but outperform the Apple laptop in many key parameters.
Dell XPS 13 / Photo credit: Zac Bowden / Windows Central
At the same time, Microsoft understands that customers want to know why the company isn’t competing in this space. “I’ve heard feedback from the press, from retailers, from partners – everyone is saying Surface devices need to be there. We’ll take that into account and certainly look at different options. I’ll start with the example of gaming PCs, though: we don’t have to be in every niche.”,” Ostrum commented on this issue.
It sounds like Microsoft reserves the right to return to this area later. At the same time, it’s clear that the company has no plans to release a cheap Surface device to directly compete with the MacBook Neo in the near future. The manufacturer is currently focusing on the high-end market, releasing devices such as the Surface Laptop Ultra.
According to sources, Microsoft currently divides the Surface series into three categories: Entry Premium, Premium and Ultra Premium. Entry Premium includes the most affordable Surface PCs, but they also cost over $1,000. Previously, Microsoft released more affordable devices, such as the Surface Go or Surface Laptop Go, which started at about $600. But that was before parts shortages sent memory chip prices soaring, and that was under another Surface executive.
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