This is double the figure it achieved in 2014

Apr 8, 2015 10:52 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is expanding its Surface lineup to become more competitive in the hardware industry, and that's going to pay off very soon, a new report suggests.

Redmond is projected to sell a total of four million tablets this year, Microsoft suppliers in Taiwan told Digitimes, which is actually double the figure the company managed to reach in 2014. Last year, Microsoft sold a total of two million Surface tablets, but the arrival of new models is expected to significantly increase sales this year.

The Surface 3 is the newest addition to the Surface lineup and comes with a 10.8-inch screen, 2 or 4 GB of RAM, and up to 128 GB of storage space. Pricing starts at $499 (€410), and this is one of the reasons this model could become a hit.

The Surface Pro 3 is still seeing strong sales, but Microsoft is also working to introduce the new Surface Pro 4, its official successor that would come with upgraded hardware and Windows 10.

The company might present the Surface Pro 4 at BUILD 2015 later this month, if online speculation proves to be true, but sales would begin only later this year, after Windows 10 becomes available. According to sources, this should happen in August, after eventually reaching RTM in June.

As far as the other Windows tablets on the market are concerned, figures are likely to increase here as well, with 2015 sales expected to reach 15 million units, and thus post a growth of 30 percent.