“Microsoft Corp. is planning to release a line of lower-cost Surface tablets as soon as the second half of 2018, seeking a hit in a market for cheaper devices that Apple Inc. dominates with the iPad, according to people familiar with the matter,” Mark Gurman and Dina Bass report for Bloomberg. “”
“Microsoft has tried this before. The software giant kicked off its consumer-oriented hardware push in 2012 with the launch of the original Surface RT. At the time, it was priced starting at $499… The tablets didn’t resonate with consumers and product reviewers,” Gurman and Bass report. “The new tablets will feature 10-inch screens — around the same size as a standard iPad, but smaller than the 12-inch screens used on the Surface Pro laptop line. The new Surfaces, priced about $400, will have rounded edges like an iPad, differing from the squared off corners of current models.”
Gurman and Bass report, “The tablets are expected to be about 20 percent lighter than the high-end models, but will have around four hours fewer of battery life.”
MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s entry-level iPads start at $329 ($299 for students and teachers) and offer up to 10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching video, or listening to music and the cellular iPad model offers up to 9 hours of surfing the web using cellular data network.
Gurman and Bass report, “Intel Corp. will supply the main processor and graphics chips for the devices, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public.”
MacDailyNews Take: No wonder Microsoft’s iPad wannabe will chew through batteries!
“Microsoft has struggled to find a high-volume hit with the Surface devices as well as to introduce a flow of new choices to keep growth steady. In the fiscal year that ended last June, Surface revenue declined 2 percent as the company faced lower volume sales owing to an aging Surface Pro line,” Gurman and Bass report. “Apple sold about 44 million iPads that generated almost $20 billion in revenue during the past four quarters. Microsoft’s entire Surface hardware business produced $4.4 billion for the same period.” reported last year.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: More inefficient, ill-conceived, derivative, poorly-selling Windows junk.
SEE ALSO:
Reuters reviews Apple’s new 6th-gen iPad: The tablet to buy – April 4, 2018
Apple’s new low-cost iPad absolutely destroys Chromebooks in performance – April 4, 2018
The Verge reviews new entry-level iPad: Apple’s bare minimum still beats everybody else – April 3, 2018
VentureBeat reviews Apple’s new 9.7-inch iPad: ‘OK for schools, great for everyone else’ – April 2, 2018
Apple’s new iPad can only be good news – March 29, 2018
New iPad’s enemy isn’t just Chromebooks, it’s the U.S. public education system – March 28, 2018
Logitech’s Rugged Combo 2 keyboard and case for Apple’s iPad has its own smart connector – March 28, 2018
Apple’s new 9.7-inch iPad offers 2GB of RAM, 2.2 GHz A10 processor – March 28, 2018
Apple takes aim at Google Chromebook with $299 iPad with Apple Pencil support for schools – March 27, 2018
Apple unveils new 9.7-inch iPad with Apple Pencil support starting at $329 – March 27, 2018