Microsoft Surface is drastically different than when it first launched. Despite the original consumer Surface device, the Surface Pro, being updated regularly, the brand as a whole has shifted away from innovation in favor of safe and conservative design.
Gone are the days of the Surface Hub, Surface Pro X, and Surface Duo. We never got to see the Surface Neo ship.
Surface used to be about innovation and driving other PC makers. The brand showcased what Windows PCs could be, took risks with new form factors, and inspired innovation.
The Surface of 2026 is quite different, tossing aside hardware innovation for iterative updates and solid devices.
But different isn't always worse. I know how I feel about the Surface brand, but I wanted to know if I was alone in being bored by Microsoft's flagship PCs.
This week, I reached out to our Windows Central subreddit to see how our Surface fans feel about the brand in 2026. I also cross-posted in the Surface subreddit to broaden the range of commenters. In both communities, sentiment toward Surface is almost entirely negative.
Based on the swift and passionate reaction from Reddit, it seems Microsoft has lost many faithful Surface users and destroyed the goodwill it forged over the first years of Surface hardware.
How Surface lost its identity
"The innovation is gone. Surface is boring now," said Reddit user OGbugsy. "Old and forgotten," added user lord_nuker.
Many feel that the Surface brand has gone stale and lacks innovation. User BokehLights said of Surface:
"Stagnant. Dying. Slowly to be discontinued. Microsoft hasn’t bothered innovating this brand. The surface pro is still expensive, bulky, heavy, and the type cover is flimsy. I’d like an attachable cover without the keyboard, doesn’t exist."
The word "stagnant" was repeated throughout the threads, and it's easy to see why. Microsoft has trimmed down its Surface lineup to essentially two form factors: clamshell laptops and 2-in-1s. Even those that have not been refreshed in years, though that should change soon.
Microsoft pushed the Surface brand through significant changes in 2024 and 2025. The departure of Panos Panay kicked things off. Microsoft then went on a mission to trim down and refocus its Surface portfolio.
Our Senior Editor Zac Bowden detailed the transition and highlighted the key change:
"The current wave of Surface hardware isn’t interested in being experimental or unique. It wants the latest Surface Pro and Surface Laptop to blend in with the market and appeal to the largest possible audience, and that means ensuring its latest hardware doesn’t rock the boat."
Bowden explained why the boring approach is necessary. Too much change can scare off customers and create small, niche categories. Even innovations like Windows on ARM were made conservatively.
While that may appeal to the masses and ensure the brand has a stable footing, Microsoft needs to find a balance between innovation and stagnation.
Rising prices and shrinking goodwill
Microsoft raised the prices of all Surface PCs significantly in April of this year. Midrange Surface devices now start at $1,000, and the most affordable flagship costs at least $1,500.
The increases were made due to the rising costs of memory and other components, but the timing could not have been worse.
Apple's new MacBook Neo starts at just $599, undercutting any comparable Surface laptop by a wide margin. The Surface Laptop 13-inch starts at $1,149.
Surface devices have always been pricey. The combination of premium design and unique form factors made the boutique brand more expensive than competing PCs. But the gap has widened at a time when people can't afford to spend more on PCs.
Our long-time staff writer, Cale Hunt, said that "It's almost impossible to recommend the Surface Laptop 13" when comparing that laptop to the MacBook Neo.
Redditors agreed. User Bryanmsi89 said:
"Overpriced. And that was before the price hike.
I used to be a big Surface fan, having owned many and recommended many more. Now, I own none and recommend none. Between the hardware cost getting out of whack relative to what is included and Windows 11 enshittifying itself, kind of a hard sell."
Bryanmsi89 is not alone in moving away from Surface hardware. "Let me put it this way, my wife has been using a Surface all the way back to the original release and she will be not replacing her current one with another surface," said Redditor GhostRiders.
Surface needs a reset
Microsoft needs to save the Surface brand. If Surface is just about iterative updates and making solid but boring PCs, other OEMs can fill that role. I shared 4 steps to save the Surface brand earlier this year and have since argued a fifth step could help.
Microsoft's history of buying successful companies and destroying them is well-known, but now the tech giant has done it with its own brand.
"It's a generational fumble of consumer goodwill. For about five minutes, Microsoft was an exciting underdog in hardware, producing innovative consumer devices that rightly inspired a cult following," argued Reddit user spillwaybrain.
We're seeing massive changes in how Microsoft approaches Windows 11 and Xbox; maybe Surface is next. If not, I think we showed today why it should be.
What do you think happened to Surface?
Surface used to stand for ambition, originality, and hardware that pushed the rest of the industry forward. Now fans say the brand feels stagnant, overpriced, and stripped of the spark that made it special. If Microsoft has really lost the plot, the people who stuck with Surface the longest are the ones who feel it most.
So tell us: Has Surface actually fallen apart, or is this just a rough stretch for a brand that can still recover?
Share your experience, your frustrations, and what you think Microsoft needs to fix first.
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