Why Microsoft's Surface gamble in India might not pay off
Gadgets Now Bureau | Aug 8, 2018, 07:59AM IST
NEW DELHI: If there’s one thing that most brands know – or learn it the hard way – is that India is a terribly price sensitive market. Unlike any other market, a good product with bad pricing (read: too high) in all likelihood will hardly find any takers. While on the other hand a decent product with right pricing would end up doing quite well. Pricing remains the key and which is why Microsoft might have just taken a huge gamble with its Surface devices in India.
Launched in India yesterday, the Surface Book 2 and the Surface laptop start at Rs 1,37,999 and Rs 86,999 respectively. It’s clear that Microsoft is targeting the premium end of the market but is it really offering enough at these price points?
Let’s take look first at the Surface laptop which is the ‘affordable’ device. Powered by 7th generation Intel Core processor, the 128GB variant is priced at Rs 86,999. Strangely, the 256GB variant is priced at Rs 1,14,999. For additional 128GB of storage Microsoft is actually charging a bomb whereas most of the other specifications remain the same. There are three other variants – more premium ones – that feature Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 GP which are priced at Rs 1,44,999, Rs 1,96,999 and Rs 2,33,999.
The Surface Book 2, on the other hand, is priced even more exorbitantly. The 13.5-inch model with 8GB RAM+256GB storage is priced at Rs 1,37,999. The upper end variants feature an NVIDIA GeForce 1050 graphics card starts at Rs 1,85,999 and go up to Rs 2,57,999.
The 15-inch variants of Surface Book 2 feature NVIDIA GeForce 1060 and start at Rs 2,22,499 and go up to Rs 2,95,999. They are powered by Intel’s 8th Generation dual core or quad core processors.
The first challenge Microsoft will face is that it’s giving specifications that are available in laptops that are priced much lower than the Surface. Pick a gaming laptop from Asus and you’ll find better specs at a relatively lower price. Even if you aren’t a gamer, then also you might just be tempted to go for a gaming device just because of its powerful specs.
The second challenge is the buying behavior of the Indian customer. Laptops – even the premium ones – need to offer a lot more than what Surface is delivering. A laptop which costs close to Rs 3 lakh better be top notch with specs that no one else is offering. Is the Surface that laptop?
Lastly, there’s the Apple factor. Say what you want about Apple’s MacBook they have an aspirational value. Plus, the 2018 version of MacBook Pro (15-inch) ships with Intel Core i9 processor that gives it more power over the Microsoft Surface.
It’s a bold gamble by Microsoft to launch Surface at these prices. Whether the Indian customer -- who is highly price sensitive – warms up to it or not remains to be seen.
Launched in India yesterday, the Surface Book 2 and the Surface laptop start at Rs 1,37,999 and Rs 86,999 respectively. It’s clear that Microsoft is targeting the premium end of the market but is it really offering enough at these price points?
Let’s take look first at the Surface laptop which is the ‘affordable’ device. Powered by 7th generation Intel Core processor, the 128GB variant is priced at Rs 86,999. Strangely, the 256GB variant is priced at Rs 1,14,999. For additional 128GB of storage Microsoft is actually charging a bomb whereas most of the other specifications remain the same. There are three other variants – more premium ones – that feature Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 GP which are priced at Rs 1,44,999, Rs 1,96,999 and Rs 2,33,999.
The Surface Book 2, on the other hand, is priced even more exorbitantly. The 13.5-inch model with 8GB RAM+256GB storage is priced at Rs 1,37,999. The upper end variants feature an NVIDIA GeForce 1050 graphics card starts at Rs 1,85,999 and go up to Rs 2,57,999.
The 15-inch variants of Surface Book 2 feature NVIDIA GeForce 1060 and start at Rs 2,22,499 and go up to Rs 2,95,999. They are powered by Intel’s 8th Generation dual core or quad core processors.
The first challenge Microsoft will face is that it’s giving specifications that are available in laptops that are priced much lower than the Surface. Pick a gaming laptop from Asus and you’ll find better specs at a relatively lower price. Even if you aren’t a gamer, then also you might just be tempted to go for a gaming device just because of its powerful specs.
The second challenge is the buying behavior of the Indian customer. Laptops – even the premium ones – need to offer a lot more than what Surface is delivering. A laptop which costs close to Rs 3 lakh better be top notch with specs that no one else is offering. Is the Surface that laptop?
Lastly, there’s the Apple factor. Say what you want about Apple’s MacBook they have an aspirational value. Plus, the 2018 version of MacBook Pro (15-inch) ships with Intel Core i9 processor that gives it more power over the Microsoft Surface.
It’s a bold gamble by Microsoft to launch Surface at these prices. Whether the Indian customer -- who is highly price sensitive – warms up to it or not remains to be seen.
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