We're celebrating 10 years of Microsoft Surface all week at Windows Central!

Gandalf_The_Grey · Jun 13, 2022

It's hard to believe, but Microsoft's Surface brand is about to turn 10. On June 18, 2012, the very first Surface was revealed to the world. It was officially in stores in October of that year, which kicked off a line of products that has expanded in ways no one, save Microsoft, could have predicted at the time.

Over those 10 years, we've witnessed the jump from the fledgling Surface RT to some of the best Windows laptops with the Surface Pro, Surface Laptop, Surface Studio, and Surface Book. In recent years, Microsoft made years of dual-screen phone rumors reality with the launch of the Surface Duo (albeit not as a Windows Phone). Surface has even spread outside of computers and phones to encompass accessories like the Surface Earbuds and Surface Headphones.

This week, Windows Central is celebrating a decade of Surface with a look back at that journey. From the wave of 2-in-1s that Surface inspired to a more critical look at the successes and mistakes Surface has seen along the way, we'll be publishing pieces both celebratory and critical all week. But we'll also look forward to what we want to see over the next decade as Surface and Windows continue under Panos Panay's leadership.

Heck, we'll even have a little fun along the way. You know those tier lists that have seemingly invaded every YouTube niche? Yeah, we'll be doing one of those on a Tuesday, June 14 livestream at 1 p.m. ET, ranking every Surface with Daniel Rubino, Zac Bowden, and Jez Corden.

So, as we count down to 10 years of Surface on June 18, celebrate with us each day this week for a bit of nostalgia, a bit of criticism, and a whole lot of fun!

Gandalf_The_Grey · Jun 14, 2022

10 years of Surface: The highs and lows of Microsoft's personal computers

We've had 10 long years of Surface tablets, laptops, PCs, and phones. The product line is in a completely different place than it was when the Surface RT was first announced in 2012. In fact, the first Surface RT is considered by many to be a huge failure, leading to an almost billion dollar write-down before the Surface 2 was even announced.

So, that got us wondering, what have been the highs and lows of the Surface line over the last 10 years? Surface RT wasn't the only low point for the Surface brand, but there's also been great moments from other Surface devices that stand out above the rest. Here's our roundup of Surface products that we think mark the highest, lowest and mixed points of the Surface brand.

Surface RT: Low
Surface Pro 3: High
Surface Book: Mixed
Surface Studio: High
Surface Laptop: High
Surface Pro X: Mixed
Surface Duo: Mixed
Surface Neo: Low
Surface Laptop Studio: High