Surface Tablet Sales Report Dances Around The Truth

The Surface table from Microsoft has been a huge disappointment in terms of sales since it was released in 2012. In fact, the Surface tablet so underperformed in 2012, Microsoft was forced to write off almost one billion dollars in losses. Last Thursday, Microsoft released a report applauding the success of the Xbox One, while trying to pump up investors about the perceived success of the Surface tablet.

The iPad and Galaxy tablet competitor from Microsoft has just flat out struggled to make a dent in the market. According to a report from the Wall Street journal, the Surface tablet only owns a 3.4 percent market share of tablets in the US. When compared to Apple’s massive almost 60 percent market share and Samsung growing to almost a 10 percent market share, Microsoft is losing out big time to its competitors.

But the company tried to convince investors that the Surface tablet family was improving after the release of the Surface 2 and the Surface Pro 2. Earnings reports showed sales doubling in their line of tablets. The hope was that investors would be excited to hear the tablets were improving in sales. For the first quarter of the fiscal year (ending in September), Microsoft achieved a very pedestrian $400 million in revenue. In the second quarter (ending in December), that number rose to $893 million. Unfortunately, Microsoft also spent $932 million to produce that revenue. So for those who are scoring at home, they are still losing money on the Surface tablets.

So why aren’t consumers picking up the Surface tablet from Microsoft? Many market experts believe it is the overall disapproval of Windows 8 and how it performs on the tablet. Others believe that Microsoft was just too late to the hardware game and especially tablets. While the Surface does sport some cool features, like the clickable keyboard and ability for it to function like a notebook, it has not been able to compete with the popular appeal of Apple.

Industry experts also attribute the doubled sales in Surface tablets to the fact that the PC is on a downward spiral. Microsoft has been noticing and acknowledging the trend. They have tried to enter the handset market through their Surface tablet, mobile phones, and are rumored to be working on some sort of wearable technology. But as of January, the only thing Microsoft seems to have going for it is the Xbox One.

Maybe you are one of the three percent of tablet owners with a Surface. What do you think of your Surface tablet?