Microsoft ‘Preparing’ To Launch Surface All-In-One PC
Reports suggest an AIO PC to rival the iMac could be released as early as Q3 and Microsoft vies to fight PC decline
Microsoft is working on an all-in-one (AIO) PC that could take on Apple’s iMac computer, according to DigiTimes and Windows Central.
The device would be shipped under the Surface brand name and could launch as early as Q3 2016.
Sources told the sites that the Surface AIO PC will replace Microsoft’s second generation Surface Book in the autumn launch cycle, as the Surface Book has been delayed by postponed shipments of the Intel Kaby Lake CPU it uses.
The sources said that instead, the second generation Surface Book is expected to ship in the first half 2017.
Read: Microsoft Surface Book review
Microsoft’s original Surface Book was released in the UK back in February, retailing for more than £1000. Microsoft targeted the device and photographers, video editors, and engineers who want the power of a desktop in a laptop form factor.
But as the PC market continues its decline, an all-in-one device could offer a welcome reprieve to Microsoft as the company prepares to launch its first Windows 10 update in August.
According to research house IDC, PC shipments fell by 11.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2016.
The research firm said shipments reached 60.6 million and attributed the “expected” fall to a weak sales environment, low consumer demand and a lack of desire among enterprises to move to Windows 10.
Confirming the device news even more, an Indian app developer named Shubhan Chemburkar took photographs of a purported hardware launch during a visit to Microsoft’s Building 88 recently.
The photo, picked up by The Verge, shows a wall that displays Microsoft’s hardware releases, including the Surface Book and the Surface Pro 4. There’s a gap in the wall with a sign for 2016 that reads “coming soon”.
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