After the failure of the Windows phone in India, Microsoft is bringing its Surface portfolio to India, amidst a surge in laptop and notebook sales in the country.
Currently, Microsoft has made the Surface Laptop, Surface Book 2 and Surface Pro available in India, along with a host of accessories like the Surface Pen and the Surface Dock. Some Microsoft officials said that the rest of the Surface products would be brought to India in the coming months.
While the products can cater to various demographics, the price points of the devices and the way Microsoft is advertising these, indicate the products are targeted towards creative professionals, who can fully utilise the various features, including the use of the accessories like the Surface Pen and Surface Dial. The Surface Pro starts from `64,999 and the Surface laptop starts from `83,535 on Amazon. “The success that we saw with the Surface Pro compelled us to bring the whole portfolio to India,” said a senior Microsoft official.
The Surface Pro was launched in February 2018 and while Microsoft doesn’t disclose sales numbers for its devices, it has not indicated what are its expectations for the Surface in terms of units sold or market share. Going by data from IDC, the Surface products captured less than 14.8% of market share for the first quarter of 2018 in PC sales, a market in which HP and Dell leads.
The PC market as a whole, however, seems to be picking up. The report from IDC estimates consumer PC market recorded an overall shipment of 1.08 million units in the first quarter of 2018, which is a 10.9% quarter-on-quarter decline but a 3.2% year-on-year increase. But analysts say that it must be noted that last year, consumer electronics including PCs reported subdued growth due to the aftereffects of GST and demonetisation.