While Microsoft’s Xbox One console has been enjoying some good momentum in the US and other markets over the last few months, Microsoft has other good news to report, this time about its Surface range of hybrid devices. Brian Hall, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Devices Marketing announced today on the Windows Blog that this past month has been the best month ever for Microsoft’s first-party devices, with sales of the 2-in-1s soaring in various markets worldwide:
November was our best month ever for consumer Surface sales. The Best Buy-exclusive Surface bundle sold out on the first day. The momentum was seen worldwide. In the UK, we had the best single week for Surface ever and in Germany the Surface Pen became the best seller in PC Accessories on Amazon.com for over 12 hours.
This year, Microsoft only introduced one new Surface Book model with Performance Base plus the new Surface Studio all-in-one PC at an event in New York in late October, but it seems that the lack of iterative updates on other models didn’t really matter with consumers. However, Hall added that Microsoft’s trade-in program for MacBooks has been a great success, and the exec even added that the bad buzz around Apple’s newest MacBook Pros convinced a significant numbers of professionals to switch to Surface.
More people are switching from Macs to Surface than ever before. Our trade-in program for MacBooks was our best ever, and the combination of excitement for the innovation of Surface coupled with the disappointment of the new MacBook Pro – especially among professionals – is leading more and more people to make the switch to Surface, like this. It seems like a new review recommending Surface over MacBook comes out daily. This makes our team so proud, because it means we’re doing good work.
As for other Surface-related news, Hall also revealed today that the Surface Book with Performance Base is now available in Australia and New Zealand, with more markets coming early next quarter including Austria, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Switzerland and the UK. Hall also announced the launch of a Surface Hub Try And Buy program as production for the giant whiteboard is now ramping up to meet demand.
Overall, it seems that Microsoft’s early bet on 2-in-1 devices is now paying off, which is also very encouraging for third-party manufacturers. The market for hybrid devices is expected to keep enjoying a solid growth in the coming years as a recent study IDC forecasted 2-in-1s to grow by 30% by 2020.
