Beijing, August 4 - According to foreign media reports, several weeks ago the price of the Surface RT tablet was reduced from $500 to $350. Recently, Microsoft has also decided to reduce the price of the flagship model in the Surface series, the Surface Pro, by $100. In addition to unsatisfactory sales performance, analysts believe that Microsoft is clearing inventory to pave the way for the upcoming new generation of Surface tablets.
Recently, Microsoft decided to reduce the price of its top-tier tablet, the Surface Pro, by $100. Initially, Microsoft positioned the Surface series as the perfect combination of entertainment and work, with the Surface Pro being the flagship model of the Surface series of tablets. This tablet-PC combo was originally priced at $899 (for the 128GB version).
Several weeks ago, Microsoft had already reduced the price of the lower-priced Surface RT tablet from $500 to $350. The Surface RT was Microsoft's core model for competing with the iPad in the market.
In reality, the Surface series of tablets have only brought in $853 million in revenue for Microsoft. In last month's announcement of Microsoft's Q4 2013 financial report, a $900 million expense was incurred due to "inventory adjustments" for the Surface RT tablet. This expense was related to the widespread discount promotions conducted by Microsoft because the sales of the Surface RT tablet did not meet expected targets. Meanwhile, during the same period, the iPad generated as much as $25 billion in revenue for Apple. In light of this reality, Microsoft's plan to shake up Apple's dominance in the tablet market has been shattered.
Some analysts pointed out that the price reduction of the Surface series tablets could very likely be Microsoft's effort to clear inventory in preparation for the launch of new tablets. There are reports that the next generation of Surface tablets from Microsoft will feature Intel's latest Haswell processor. In addition to enhanced functionality, Haswell also boasts excellent energy-saving performance, significantly improving battery life.