Microsoft is offering a second chance at Surface Pro 3 discounts for anyone who missed the sale over the holidays.
With the exception of the $799 Core i3 model, all Surface Pro 3 tablets are $100 off until February 7. The sale prices range from $899 for a Core i5 processor with 128 GB of storage to $1,849 for a Core i7 processor and 512 GB of storage. Microsoft is also throwing in a free protective sleeve, but you’ll still have to tack on another $130 for the almost-mandatory Type Cover keyboard.
Microsoft has slashed Surface prices before, though the sales are typically timed around the holidays or the arrival of new hardware. The latter isn’t likely to happen for at least another few months, given that the Surface Pro 3 arrived in June of last year. (We’re just guessing here, but an announcement at Microsoft’s Build developers conference in late April seems like a possibility.)
In any case, it’s no secret that Microsoft is working on a new Surface Pro. The company confirmed it last October, when it assured businesses that the “next generation of the ‘Pro’ line” would support the Pro 3 Type Cover, desktop Docking Station and other core accessories like the power adapter. This suggests that the next version will be more of a spec bump than a design overhaul. (There have been rumors of an even larger version, but the sources are sketchy.)
The Surface line was a bright spot in Microsoft’s latest earnings report, with revenues topping $1 billion for the first time even as the company phased out its cheaper Windows RT models.
Why this matters: Fret about future hardware if you want, but this is still a good deal on a fine product. Prices aren’t likely to get cheaper until the Pro 3 is actually replaced, and even then, the leap isn’t likely to be as great as it was the last time around. If you’ve been waiting for an opportunity to buy, now’s the time.