Microsoft does not offer the Laptop Surface 2 at the promised price, sort of



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At the launch of Microsoft Surface, Microsoft equipment manager Panos Panay presented a slide showing the minimum prices, from, for Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop 2: 899 USD and 999 USD respectively.

What we have not noticed is that the key to lower prices seems to be the color of the devices in question: if you want the Cheap Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop 2, you must be satisfied. with the color platinum. But it's also not fair to say that the new black peripherals (and cobalt blue and burgundy) are considered high-end colors, and will cost an additional $ 100 – as the most basic configuration does not work. is offered in none of these three colors.

Does this mean that Microsoft sells both Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop 2 at a price higher than originally announced? Technically, no, even if it's confusing.

"Since the release of Surface Laptop in Spring 2017, we are excited to offer color options on our high end models," Microsoft said in a statement. "We've taken a similar approach with Surface Laptop 2 and Surface Pro 6. As always, we'll listen to customer feedback as we look at the future of the Surface family of products."

laptop surface 2 price Mark Hachman / IDG

The Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 pre-order page does not list the Core i5 / 8GB / 128GB option. Instead, the "minimum" price is this $ 1200 option for a 2 laptop with 256 GB of storage. Why? Because it's black.

The option & # 39; Essentials & # 39;

When the Surface Pro 6 went on sale October 2, we immediately noticed that the store offered a Surface Pro 6 Essentials package, which required the purchase of a $ 99 type cover. and at least $ 49.99 subscription to Office 365 with your Surface Pro 6. This is another option to choose when buying a Surface device.

The bundled price of a Surface Pro 6 is therefore 1,167.98 USD and 1,167.99 USD for a Surface Laptop 2. (These two prices assume the presence of a Core i5 processor, 8 GB of memory and a 128GB SSD.) What we did not notice. is that the 899 i5 / 8/128 $ a la carte option for the Surface Pro 6 was basic platinum color. This becomes even more confusing: this 128GB storage option is not available in black, burgundy or blue – instead, only a 256GB option is available for $ 999.

2 essential surface laptop Mark Hachman / IDG

The basic specifications of the Surface Laptop 2 are available, but only as part of an Essentials package … in low-cost platinum color.

If this does not seem confusing enough, consider the fact that there are also two different versions of Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop 2: one configured for businesses and the other for consumers. For the same configuration, Microsoft charges $ 100 more for a Surface Pro 6 for Business and $ 200 more for a Surface Laptop 2 for Business. (Business users and consumers must choose from the same Surface Studio 2 configurations.) The reason for the price difference? Microsoft offers businesses an optimized processor with Intel vPro support, as well as a more powerful warranty option.

Surface Pro 6 Surface Laptop 2 Pricing Mark Hachman / IDG

And here's what Microsoft originally promised for the Surface Pro 6 and Surface Laptop 2 rates.

It comes back to the fact that Microsoft promised one thing … and delivered. But my boy, does that create confusion?

What does this mean for you? We have to come up with a mea culpa – we have tried to go through the pricing options and we are lost along the way. Just be sure to consider the different options (including color!) When trying to choose from different devices.

This story was corrected and revised at 4:17 pm PDT to try to explain the pricing options associated with the Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 and Surface Pro 6 notebooks.

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