Business Standard

How Microsoft has become the surprise innovator in PCs

Microsoft took a $900 million write-off for unsold Surfaces, its flagship tablet that was a failure

In the last two years, while Apple has focused on mobile devices, Microsoft has put out a series of computers that reimagine the future
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In the last two years, while Apple has focused on mobile devices, Microsoft has put out a series of computers that reimagine the future

Farhad Manjoo | NYT
When Microsoft unveiled the first Surface tablet five years ago, it was a spectacular failure.

At the time, the Apple iPhone was well on its way to conquering the technology industry, and the iPad appeared set to lead an even more devastating invasion of Microsoft’s office-worker kingdom. Microsoft conceived of Surface, an innovative laptop-tablet hybrid, as a way to show off the versatility of its software. Windows machines, it argued, could work as phones, personal computers and tablets. And didn’t everyone love Windows?

Nope. Microsoft soon took a $900 million write-off for unsold Surfaces. Another effort to break into the hardware business,

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