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Microsoft’s Surface is officially a flop

Updated Jul 31st, 2013 9:05AM EDT
Microsoft Surface Sales 2013

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Microsoft positioned its Surface as a competitor to Apple’s iPad and if that is indeed the case, Microsoft has failed miserably. In documents filed with the Securities and Exchange commission on Tuesday, Microsoft stated that it earned $853 million in revenue from Surface sales during the fiscal year ended on June 30th, 2013. That figure doesn’t include the $900 million write-down it took or the huge amount of cash it spent on marketing and advertising, so Microsoft has clearly lost a substantial amount of money on its Surface bet so far — yes, the Surface is officially a flop.

In an effort to put a number on Surface sales to date, GeekWire estimated that Microsoft sold about 1.7 million Surface tablets since the Surface RT debuted last fall. Apple, on the other hand, sold 3 million iPad tablets in just three days this past November when the new iPad and iPad mini launched.

Compounding matters is the fact that GeekWire used an average selling price of $500 to calculate its Surface sales estimate, which is probably very low. Up until a discount was applied recently, Microsoft’s Surface RT started at $500 for the entry-level model and the Surface Pro starts at $900.

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.