Microsoft Delays Surface Hub Yet Again, Pours Salt On Wounds With $2,000 Price Hike
If you recall, Microsoft first announced the 55- and 84-inch Surface Hubs nearly a year ago, and told us mid-way through the year that pre-orders would open on July 1st. Although Microsoft accepted pre-orders on time, it announced that shipments would be delayed (shipments were originally expected to commence in September). Then, in early August, Microsoft announced that the Surface Hub devices were being delayed until January 2016.
This latest delay is no doubt frustrating and disappointing to those that were willing to part with $4,999 for the 55-inch Surface Hub and $19,999 for its larger, 84-inch brother. And that brings us to the second bombshell that Microsoft announced today: it is also raising prices across the board to add insult to injury. If you already got your pre-order in, don’t worry; you’re safe. But Microsoft is raising prices by $2,000 across the board for new orders, which means that that the 55-inch and 84-inch Surface Hubs will now cost $6,999 and $21,999 respectively.
In a statement, Microsoft wrote, “After evaluating the market opportunity and considering the unique collaboration scenarios Surface Hub offers, we believe these are the right prices to drive the business and the category forward.”
That may very well be the case, but many businesses that were previously interested in the Surface Hub might be reevaluating that decision now. If the continued delays weren’t enough to drive customers away, the $2,000 price increase is sure to put a damper on demand — especially on the 55-inch model where the price increase is most profound.
The smaller model features a 1920x1080 display, fourth generation Intel Core i5 processor with 8GB of RAM, Intel HD 4600 graphics and a 128GB SSD. The larger model comes with 4K (3840x2140) display, fourth generation Intel Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 128GB SSD and an NVIDIA Quadro K2200 GPU.
