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Microsoft is no longer manufacturing the Surface 2

Microsoft is no longer manufacturing the Surface 2

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Microsoft's Surface just had a very healthy quarter, bringing the company $1.1 billion in revenue. While we don't actually know how many units that is, Microsoft says that most of them were its newest model, the Surface Pro 3, which outsold its predecessor, the Surface 2, three to one. So it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that Microsoft is shifting its focus to the newer version instead. Today the company said it plans to stop making the Surface 2 in favor of focusing on the Surface Pro 3.

"We are no longer manufacturing Surface 2; however, those still eager to buy Surface should visit Microsoft Retail Stores, MicrosoftStore.com, third-party retailers and resellers for the latest availability," Microsoft said in a statement to The Verge.

The big unmentioned detail there is that it's the end of the line for Windows RT, which everyone except for Microsoft had already given up on. Its future looked even bleaker during Microsoft's Windows 10 announcements last week, with the company saying that the new OS was not coming to the Surface RT or Surface 2, its last remaining Windows RT devices.

The sequel few people wanted

The Surface 2 debuted near in the fall of 2013 as a successor to the Surface RT, which received a lukewarm response and ended up costing Microsoft millions in stock that did not sell. It was thinner and lighter than the previous model, and also had a considerably better display, but was still stymied by Windows RT, which did not support traditional Windows programs. Users had to rely on developers to make special versions of their software just for the RT platform, and given the increasingly small market of other Windows RT hardware manufacturers, many developers chose not to put their efforts there.

It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that the Surface 2 is being retired. Besides the rather large difference in Surface sales by device, as well as Microsoft's lack of plans to bring over Windows 10, stock of the computer has been drying up in several places, including the company's own online store.