Microsoft's own computing line rises to the Surface
Microsoft’s Surface tablets finally appear to be resonating with consumers in a big way, with the tech giant reporting a revenue increase of 127 per cent for the range.
The launch of the highly-rated Surface Pro 3 earlier this year helped to significantly boost the Windows 8 hybrid devices to the tune of $908m (£566m) in sales.
In an encouraging Q1 2015 fiscal quarterly report, Microsoft announced it had made $4.5 billion (£2.8bn) in profit on revenues of $23.20 billion (£14.5bn), beating Wall Street expectations by around $800m (£500m).
The company is also celebrating 2.4m Xbox sales in the last three months, which is up 102 per cent on the same period last year, which is to be expected given the Xbox One hadn’t yet launched.
The company did not reveal how many of those were Xbox One and Xbox 360 sales, as it seeks to reel in Sony’s lead.
Overall, the Devices and Consumer division reported a 47 per cent increase in revenue, thanks largely to a 25 per cent quarter-to-quarter growth in Office 365 subscriptions which now total over 7 million.
It wasn’t all good news for Microsoft as profits are down 13 per cent year-on-year with the firm attributing the drop off to the costs of bringing Nokia into the fold.
Satya Nadella, chief executive officer of Microsoft, reflected: “We are innovating faster, engaging more deeply across the industry, and putting our customers at the center of everything we do, all of which positions Microsoft for future growth.
“Our teams are delivering on our core focus of reinventing productivity and creating platforms that empower every individual and organization.”
Read more: Xbox One vs PS4