Microsoft to launch smaller, low-cost Surface devices

After Apple launched a cheaper iPad targeting students and academics, Microsoft also plans to launch a line of low-cost Surface tablets as soon as the second half of 2018.

The new Surface tablets will have a 10-inch screen—a couple of inches smaller than the 12-inch screens used on the Surface Pro laptop line. Priced around $400 (approx. Rs 27,000), this Surface tablet will have rounded edges similar to the iPad, reported Bloomberg. The Surface Pro has square edges.

The new tablet models will also have a USB-C connectivity—a first for a Surface device. The report further said that it will be about 20 percent lighter than the high-end models, but will have around four hours fewer of battery life.

That means the new tablet can run up to 9.5 hours on a single charge. The processors for the tablet will be provided by Intel.

This is not the first time the California-based software giant has tried to wade into the low-cost tablet territory. In 2012, Microsoft moved to Surface Pro after a Surface RT debacle. Surface RT was the original Surface device priced at $499 (approx. Rs 33,800).

Revenue from Surface devices has been a roller coaster ride. Microsoft registered 2% decrease in revenue from the Surface line in the fiscal ending June 2017. However, in the last quarter, it registered a 32% rise in the revenue.

Despite the surge, it is nowhere close to Apple in the tablet market. Cupertino-based Apple sold about 44 million iPads that generated almost $20 billion in revenue during the past four quarters. Microsoft's entire revenue from complete Surface line-up stands at mere $4.4 billion in the same period.