The large wave of layoffs announced by Microsoft yesterday (about 10,000 people) will have a impact on its hardware portfolio as well: in an internal memo, the CEO Satya Nadella mentioned it explicitly – in fact we only talk about “changes”, but it is decidedly more likely that these are cuts and reductions than vice versa.
At present, Microsoft has a very large catalog of products, among which four key strands stand out: Surface, PC accessories and peripherals, Xbox and HoloLens. Nadella does not give any previews of what the cuts might be, but several observations can be made:
- THE Surface revenue, HoloLens and PC accessories were combined into one item last October, and overall indicated a two percentage point increase. However, Microsoft itself has warned that a decline of as much as 30% is expected in the next quarter.
- In the last period the HoloLens difficulty there have been several: not only has longtime manager Alex Kipman departed amid allegations of workplace misconduct, but the HoloLens 3 project has been rumored to be canceled, though the company recently said a new generation will arrive when there are “significant upgrades” to be proposed. A contract with the US military to build and sell 6,900 combat-adapted HoloLens also fell through. According to Bloomberg, the layoffs have also affected the HoloLens division.
- Also Surface Hub he spent three unhappy years. The second generation came out just before the pandemic – and remote working definitely isn’t the breeding ground for a device meant for office use. Microsoft has canceled the launch of the Surface Hub 2X cartridge, which would have brought a processor upgrade. Despite this, the Surface Hub 2S was released in the midst of the pandemic, but there is no information on sales performance, and nothing more has been known (official or otherwise) about any new products in the line.
- It was worth noting that it was also deleted the surface Neoalbeit a long time ago, that it was supposed to be some kind of laptop with two screens – or a larger Surface Duo running Windows instead of Android.
- About Surface Duos, it seems that Microsoft has canceled the development plans of a third generation with the same form factor seen so far (two separate displays, concept render at the opening) and is working on a new model with a Galaxy Z Fold-style flexible display. Microsoft was also rumored to be working on a more traditional, single-display Surface smartphone, but at this point who knows if that’s still true.
Microsoft Surface Neo
Microsoft Surface NeoSome backlash could also be suffered by Windows. The pandemic and the consequent surge in PC sales had prompted Microsoft to speed up development a lot, but apparently the push has run out: Microsoft itself expects a drop in revenues for the division of around 30%. In general, it should be remembered that before the pandemic, Nadella had always said that the cloud represents the future of Microsoft. Let’s imagine that once the emergency (or at least its acute phase) has ended, society will return to focus on that.
