Microsoft has announced it will end production and sales of its Surface 3 tablet by December.
The device was launched in May last year and has struggled to reach the same popularity as the superior Surface Pro 4.
As such, the news likely won’t come as much of a surprise to many, especially to those stateside where the Surface 3 has only been available in the 64GB / 2GB Wifi+LTE version on the Microsoft Store for some time.
The company provided a statement to thurrott.com, confirming the demise of the Surface 3: “Since launching Surface 3 over a year ago, we have seen strong demand and satisfaction amongst our customers.
“Inventory is now limited and by the end of December 2016, we will no longer manufacture Surface 3 devices.”
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It remains unclear whether Microsoft is planning to release a Surface 4, with some reports suggesting the firm is struggling to make a decision on the future of the entry-level Surface line.
Any announcement on that front will likely come after the next big Windows 10 update arrives in spring 2017.
Despite not being the fastest hybrid option on the market, we praised the Surface 3 in our original review for being a solid option for students and alike, with a great screen and high-end design.
But it seems that wasn’t enough to save it from being axed. Whether that means the entire entry-level line has been canned remains to be seen, but things don’t look good at this point.
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Are you sad to see the Surface 3 go? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
