8" Surface May Arrive in June; Windows 8.1 in October
Microsoft may launch its 8-inch Surface tablet in June, followed by Windows 8.1 in October.
DigiTimes provided a double-shot of Windows 8 goodness on Thursday, first reporting that Windows 8.1 is estimated to launch in late October. We already speculated this would be the timeframe when Microsoft's update would hit the masses, but sources "related to ODMs" offered their two cents nonetheless. An October release schedule would seemingly keep the platform on a tight yearly refresh given Windows 8 launched on October 26, 2012.
However, these sources believe that Windows 8.1 won’t be enough to push large numbers of new hardware sales, citing some nonsense about how current users can take advantage of third-party apps like Start8 to modify the interface and features. For current Windows 8 customers, the upgrade will be completely free – how the updated platform will push sales later this year will depend on how it's advertised.
But these sources do point out that Microsoft will need to drop its Windows 8 licensing even lower if the company wants to make a major, positive impact on the consumer market this fall. Microsoft is reportedly providing licensing subsidies for products with display sizes 11.6-inches and below. Thus, ODMs producing slightly larger notebooks are having a hard time competing with those products on a price level.
Launching Windows 8.1 in October seems to fall in line with Microsoft's former release schedule with Windows 8. The company launched a Consumer Preview on February 29, a meatier Release Preview on May 31, and then the full retail version on October 26. Microsoft plans to launch the Release Preview for Windows 8.1 next month during BUILD 2013 along with a rumored 8-inch Surface tablet.
That's where DigiTimes' second report of the day chimes in. Unnamed sources from supply chain makers in Taiwan claim that an 8-inch Surface will arrive in June followed by a 10.x-inch model as early as 3Q13. The 8-inch model will reportedly use a Nvidia SoC – presumably the Tegra 4 – and a touch panel supplied by Samsung. Taiwan-based ODM Pegatron will be responsible for production.
The details surrounding the 10.x-inch tablet are unclear, but it will be slightly smaller than the current 10.6-inch Surface tablets. It will also arrive once Microsoft has flushed out the current stockpile with deep discounts later this year. Microsoft expects initial monthly shipments of the two new devices to reach one million units, sources said.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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BringMeAnother I hope it's not temash. NotebookCheck reviewed it and it didn't look that good. It will likely be Haswell. At least I hope so.Reply -
vmem Reply10820178 said:I hope it's not temash. NotebookCheck reviewed it and it didn't look that good. It will likely be Haswell. At least I hope so.
Well, I'm hoping they've updated it since the one in the acer aspire... and Haswell chips with decent graphics still consume too much power to be in a tablet. in a 10-inch, all I want is the ability to handle a bunch of browser-tabs, word processing, and maybe basic powerpoint stuff.
but I might game a little when I'm bored, and Temash will let me run windows based MMOs :P
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stevejnb If that little one isn't under $300, I don't see it making an impact. Heck, even that is a stretch, seeing as you can get similar sized Android tablet for about half that, so I'm not loving its chances. I also seriously doubt thy sell it for under $300.Reply
All this as someone who really, really likes his Windows 8 Pro Acer Iconia W700 tablet. I'd like to see these things pick up, but MS ain't making it easy. I'd like to say they are thinking long term, but that's what I thought about the Zune HD. -
falchard Tablets are a boring prospect to me when the best GPU you can get by it s made by Intel.Reply -
g00fysmiley it would be competing against the likes of the nexus7 and kindle fire, most consumers won't care that the tegra 4 will be a better preocessor they will only look at storage space and price, if it is over $250 it will flop and even then tha tis only becasue of the slightly larger screenReply -
stevejnb If that little one isn't under $300, I don't see it making an impact. Heck, even that is a stretch, seeing as you can get similar sized Android tablet for about half that, so I'm not loving its chances. I also seriously doubt thy sell it for under $300.Reply
All this as someone who really, really likes his Windows 8 Pro Acer Iconia W700 tablet. I'd like to see these things pick up, but MS ain't making it easy. I'd like to say they are thinking long term, but that's what I thought about the Zune HD. -
stevejnb Reply10821357 said:Don't care, still want the Surface Pro, on sale in UK next weekend
I'd strongly recommend getting a tablet like that. Best combination of portability and functionality of any device I've ever used.
What I'd recommend though is checking out some of the non MS alternatives. The Surface is great - I've used one - but it's more or less the same device as the Iconia W700 at a higher cost with fewer bells and whistles. Not sure if it sells in the UK though... -
DryCreamer I've really been thinking about a W700, but if they release a 8" tablet with an x86 CPU, that would really be what I'm interested in. Sadly, Acer or another OEM will probably release a product I'm more interested in than MS will...Reply
Dry