Surface sales were down 26% in the last quarter, due according to Microsoft to the age of the product and intense competition from OEMs. While this may have inspired other companies to work to regain the market share with a more competitive product, according to numerous rumours the Surface 5 (or 4.5) will be much of the same, but with an updated processor.
Apple, who once dominated the tablet market and still holds nearly a quarter of the market share, has seen its own sales declined over the last 3 years, but unlike Microsoft, the company has been fighting back.
According to rumours, driven by an inventory listing for an Under Armour case showing a 10.5 inch iPad Pro (a device which does not exist) Apple may launch a new model of the iPad as early as June with a stunning new design, featuring a near edge-less, borderless screen on all 4 sides, allowing Apple to fit a 10.5 inch screen in the same body as the current 9.7 inch iPad.
The device may also debut Apple’s screen-based fingerprint reader and home button, though it seems unlikely the company would bring it to the iPad before the iPhone 8.
While we are not fans of the gilded cage of Apple’s products, the company has always earned kudos for their design, though recently Microsoft has been stealing some of the limelight. A new edge-less iPad may win some of that back, especially if Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 follow-up is as uninspiring as rumoured.