Microsoft has confirmed that consumers who purchase the 32GB variant of Surface will only be left with 16GB of storage space.
Previously, it was reported that 12GB of storage space will be taken from the device's 32GB capacity. However, according to Microsoft documentation, the $499 32GB Surface tablet actually takes 16GB of storage space.
On a 32GB Surface model, 29GB is initially available after partitioning. Take away 5GB for Windows recovery tools, and another 8GB for Windows RT, Microsoft Office, as well as other built-in apps, it leaves 16GB of free space. As for the 64GB model, users will be left with 46GB.
Microsoft, however, does offer advice on an FAQ page regarding how to free up storage space on the tablet. The firm suggests users utilize cloud storage through SkyDrive, using a microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC memory card or a USB flash drive or hard drive.
The Windows 8-powered Surface, which saw its entire pre-order inventory selling out, launched alongside the operating system on October 26.
Contact Us for News Tips, Corrections and Feedback
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Zak Islam is a freelance writer focusing on security, networking, and general computing. His work also appears at Digital Trends and Tom's Guide.
-
goodguy713 thats pretty hefty for an operating system with just a few programs installed .. ouch .. i was kinda interested in this until i saw this factor.. sure you can add a hard drive or something but dosnt that kinda defeat the purpose..Reply -
mariusmotea The amount of space occupied by system is to high, the available space is the only think that matter, and i belive that surface 32 must be renamed in surface 16, so any people can make the right coose when considering to buy a new tablet.Reply -
osamabinrobot can you just get rid of the windows recovery tools like you would setting up a desktop with an ssd?Reply -
g00fysmiley if it will accept a usb drive then there are some nice ssd enclosures that would be pretty cool i believe some can even be powered by the usb port so that is an option .. still that is nto nearly enough memory onboard, m$ srsly why you copy apple on the limited space and lots of money for a tiny bit of memory frontReply -
classzero Really shady tricks Microsoft. Apple and Android manufacturers do not include OS as part of the storage capacity.Reply -
freggo Microsoft should rename the OS from Windows RT to Bloat RT.Reply
16GB for a tablet/laptop OS is friggin ridiculous.
-
yialanliu classzeroReally shady tricks Microsoft. Apple and Android manufacturers do not include OS as part of the storage capacity.That's a lie, you never get 16 gb on an iphone, somethinglike 14.6 comes to mind...Reply