Microsoft champions latest Surface Pro laptop

Microsoft Corp is betting that China will lead the way for its hardware sales revival with the tech giant launching the latest Surface Pro — the lightweight laptop that also works as a tablet — among other product lineups in the country that has experienced the category’s fastest growth internationally in recent years.

From updated tablet-laptop hybrids to its latest games console, the US group hosted its first-ever global product launch fair on Tuesday in Shanghai, underscoring China’s huge market potential to drive much bigger sales num- bers, according to Panos Panay, corporate vice-president for Surface at Microsoft.

“China is our fastest-growing market. That’s why we decided to share the new Surface Pro with the whole world from Shanghai,” Panay told a packed audience near the Bund, an iconic waterfront area in central Shanghai.

Dubbed the New Surface Pro, the tablet, with a removable keyboard powered by a faster Intel 7 th generation chip and an improved battery life of 13.5 hours, has Microsoft claiming it outperforms its main rival — Apple Inc’s iPad Pro.

Microsoft said it was also updated with a brighter screen, a new silent fanless option, and a stylus pen with improved latency and tilt functionality, giving users from artists to mobile professionals a more fluid experience.

The new device is available from June 15 in 26 markets including China, and is priced at 5,888 yuan ($799). On Wednesday, Microsoft also kicked off a two-week exclusive presale in China on the platform of JD.com Inc, the nation’s second-biggest e-commerce platform.

China is the biggest market for Surface outside Microsoft’s home turf, with sales growing at a compound annual rate of 50 percent, Panay said.

Also brought to China later this year are the new Surface Laptop, the HoloLens, Microsoft’s augmented reality head- set and the Project Scorpio games console. The Surface Studio, a device dedicated to creative processes, is also confirmed to be making its way to the country.

Surface has hit a bumpy road lately, with sales sliding 26 percent to $831 million in the last quarter, according to Microsoft’s latest earnings report in April.

But it’s not only Microsoft that is hurting. The tablet market experienced a 8.5 percent year-over-year decline in the first quarter of 2017, according to consultancy International Data Corp, marking the 10th quarter in a row that sales in this segment have dipped.

China is our fastest-growing market. That’s why we decided to share the new Surface Pro ...” Panos Panay, corporate vice-president for Surface at Microsoft