Microsoft Surface RT demand is weak, production shipments said to be halved
Things don’t seem to be going too well for the Microsoft Surface RT Windows 8 tablet. The Redmond-based company’s first full push into the hardware market has been met with a consumer response so muted that the company are now said to have halved their order from the supply chain, according to DigiTimes.
Microsoft, who had hoped to shift 4 million of the devices by Christmas, have now requested just 2 million extra units from their manufacturers.
DigiTimes haven’t got the best track record when it comes to accurate reports, but the news does chime in tune with earlier reports suggesting that Microsoft found initial Surface sales to be “disappointing”. Indeed, Steven Sinofsky, the man in charge of Windows 8 and its push into the tablet market, left the company unceremoniously following Windows 8’s launch.
Windows 8 tablets across the board seem to be sharing similar problems, with Asus, Samsung and Dell’s Windows 8 tablets hardly flying off shelves, with sources describing their sales as “weak”. Asus’ chief finance officer even previously admitted that “demand for Windows 8 is not that good right now,” despite the company investing lots in the new software.
Microsoft are now banking on the Surface Pro tablet (which runs full-fat Windows 8) to be a success, which is set for a January release. A post-Christmas launch however is never a good time for consumers’ wallets, and recent reports of the Pro edition’s lacklustre battery life will have to be overcome too.
