I’m not sure they really have a plan that will work long time - the Surface family of devices has been interesting, and is attractive to some customers, but I wouldn’t say they’ve been hugely successful in the marketplace.
Microsoft seems to keep on doing that - trying to break into device markets with offerings that are technically promising, but that just seem to fail to catch on, then fizzle out very slowly due to extended uncertain future support.
With Windows Phone for example - Given where we are now, Microsoft should just have pulled the plug immediately after the Nokia thing ended - their investment and belief in the platform was clearly in decline at that point, but they sort of soldiered on for much longer than they should, giving their dwindling fanbase false hopes that there even was a future.
Yeah, the MS phone vs Surface thing is something that puzzles me.
Why are people buying Surfaces? Get the same thing for less from another name brand maker.
I guess MS has decided that those loyal Surface buyers are a big enough market to go after with a phone.
But, still, the situation with regards to making money on Android phones has gotten even worse the last two years. Companies are bleeding.
The app store is the place to win money. MS’s Windows store isn’t doing well. If they want an MS phone app store, they have to break free of Google like Amazon did with its devices. And I don’t see MS managing that well.
It was a big deal when Microsoft started to sell the Surface tablet, notebook and desktop PCs. For decades prior to that, they never did, because they didn’t want to compete with their hardware partners (HP, Dell, Acer, Gateway, Compaq, etc.) What I heard at the time they did this was that they were tired of how slow the hardware manufacturers were to introduce new technologies. I also heard they were annoyed that the consumer-level computers came with so much crap on them that they ran slowly. So a consumer buys a new computer but is immediately disappointed by poor performance. (For the same reason they sell other companies’ computer in the Microsoft Stores without this crap installed, and the systems tuned for max performance.)
It’s kind of like how Google got into the business of offering high-speed internet in a few cities, to prod the cable and telephone companies to do a better job of offering it.
Because their Surface products make them a ton of money (has made over a billion dollars in revenue for the last 7-8 quarters, IIRC). Heck, look at all the buzz the Surface Duo received when it was revealed.
Microsoft’s net income has also been up quite a bit lately. They haven’t broken it down by division, but I bet the Surface line is a big money maker.
I think we can surmise that from their expansion of products. We don’t just have the 7th Surface Pro and the 3rd Surface Laptop (in addition to the 2nd Surface Book, which was not refreshed this go around) but now the ARM based Surface Pro X, and the Surface Neo and Surface Duo. Obviously Microsoft thinks it’s a winner just from it’s actions this week.
I am not an accountant or finance pro but I doubt that. According to this, FY2018 revenues of about 110 billion, with operating income of about 35 billion. You said upthread that the Surface products made about a billion in revenues during the past two fiscal years. Assuming you’re correct, that makes the percentage of revenues amount to a rounding error.
A billion in revenue the last 7-8 quarters. So $4billion a year. Granted that’s a small part of their total revenues, but it can still be a division money maker. And the big expansion of Surface products the last few years seems to indicate Microsoft sees financial value in it as opposed to ‘pushing other partners forward’ (otherwise just keep releasing Surface Pros and call it a day).