The streamlining of the Surface lineup continues, as Microsoft sticks with what it knows will work.
Microsoftis no longer producing theSurface Laptop Studio 2, its most powerful laptop that folds forward to create an easel. There are no rumors of a Surface Laptop Studio 3, suggesting that Microsoft is cutting the hybrid laptop — the only one with a discrete GPU — from its lineup.
The news comes fromThe Verge, which reports that the Laptop Studio 2 ended production earlier this month, and that the system will be pronounced as “end of life” next month.
Resellers confirmed toThe Vergethat Microsoft ceased manufacturing and would continue to provide software and driver updates for the Surface Laptop Studio 2.
The Surface Laptop Studio 2 is being put out to pasture quietly, much like other devices that the company has sunset. The Surface Studio, a desktop PC that folded down into a creative studio for drawing, wasformally discontinued in Decemberwithout a successor. Microsoft’s audio products, the Surface Headphones 2 and Surface Earbuds, have also quietly disappeared.
The Surface Laptop Studio’s discontinuance comes at a hazy time for the Surface brand. On the one hand, two new devices — theSurface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch— were just announced and are set to release next week. On the other hand, the lineup lost its champion,former chief Panos Panay, who left Microsoft forAmazonin 2023,reportedly over budget issuesand product cancellations. Panay wassucceeded by Pavan Davuluri.
Since Panay’s departure, the lineup has been cut down to just the Surface Laptop, Surface Pro, and the Surface Go 4, the latter of which is only sold to business customers at the moment.
Without the Surface Laptop Studio, Microsoft has removed systems with discrete GPUs from its hardware lineup, potentially alienating creatives and gamers. Prior to the Surface Laptop Studio, Microsoft’s powerhouse system was the Surface Book, which combined a tablet with a base featuring a discrete GPU.
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Besides featuring raw horsepower, the Surface Laptop Studio and Surface Book were also fairly unique designs that attempted to push system designs forward. Clamshell laptops are table stakes, and many OEMs offer their own versions of the Surface Pro’s tablet design. It seems that Microsoft is experimenting less and focusing more on what it knows already works.
Microsoft has been streamlining other areas, too, including its own workforce. This week, the company cut about 6,000 employees, or approximately 3% of its workforce. The company is also focusing more on AI (in Windows and elsewhere), and putting its Xbox Studios games on other systems, like the PlayStation 5.
When we reviewed the Surface Laptop Studio 2, we praised Microsoft for adding ports over the original, while prioritizing quiet operation and a bright display. But the company had used a lower-power GPU capped at 80W of power, and the system was expensive.