Microsoft says November was the best month on record for consumer sales of Microsoft’s Surface devices, including the Surface tablets and Surface Book laptop, and the company gives part of the credit to disappointment over Apple’s new Macbook Pro.
“Our trade-in program for MacBooks was our best ever, and the combination of excitement for the innovation of Surface coupled with the disappointment of the new MacBook Pro – especially among professionals – is leading more and more people to make the switch to Surface … ” says Brian Hall, Microsoft’s corporate vice president for devices marketing, in a post this morning announcing recent Surface sales.
Apple unveiled the new MacBook Pro in October, but the new signature feature, the Touch Bar above the keyboard, was an underwhelming addition for some longtime Mac users. A base level 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar starts at $1799, while the Surface Book starts at $1499.
Microsoft’s MacBook trade-in program, which has since ended, offered discounts on Surface Pro 4 tablets and the Surface Book to people who sent in their old computers.
The company didn’t give specific sales figures as part of its post this morning, but Hall cites momentum in the U.S. and internationally.
“November was our best month ever for consumer Surface sales,” he writes. “The Best Buy-exclusive Surface bundle sold out on the first day. The momentum was seen worldwide. In the UK, we had the best single week for Surface ever and in Germany the Surface Pen became the best seller in PC Accessories on Amazon.com for over 12 hours.”
Apple has been in the hardware business for many years, and its overall Mac revenues are still more than five times higher than Microsoft’s Surface revenue. However, the Mac business has been on the decline. Apple reported $5.7 billion in Mac revenue for the September quarter, down 17 percent from the prior year. Microsoft Surface revenue increased 38 percent, to about $918 million, in the same time period.
