Some partners aren't happy with Microsoft's hardware

Oct 13, 2015 12:33 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft building premium hardware is great for customers across the world who want to purchase high-end devices that offer the best possible integration with Windows 10, Cortana, and other services, but it's certainly terrible for OEMs.

PC manufacturers previously worked with Microsoft to optimize their devices for the best possible experience on Windows, but with more devices manufactured by the software giant itself, Redmond is quickly becoming a rival to its own friends.

And yet, opinions are still divided on this because while some OEMs believe that it’s helpful to see Microsoft joining the hardware business because this could help reignite sales, others think that it's not, due to the fact that Redmond might more or less steal their buyers.

Only today, Acer executives have claimed that Microsoft has what it takes to support the recovery of the PC industry with its own devices, so it's a good thing that the company invests in this side of the business. But this happened after, some time ago, Acer's CEO himself criticized Microsoft for stepping into hardware, claiming that Redmond should have stayed in software and software only.

Asus not really excited about the Surface Book

While Acer might be fine with Microsoft's decision to get involved in hardware, Asus certainly isn't, and some interesting information comes from Recode's Ina Fried.

During the October 6 event when Microsoft unveiled its new hardware lineup, Fried was sitting just next to Asus chairman Jonney Shih, who watched the presentation with a little bit more interest than everyone else, because in some way or another, they were competing with Microsoft.

But just when Panos Panay, head of the Devices unit at Microsoft, took the wraps off the Surface Book, the Asus chairman was heard saying, “I think we are going to have a serious talk about that.” Obviously, he wasn't pleased with Microsoft going so deep in the hardware industry, thus harming Asus' business more than anyone expected.

Microsoft's response

So what exactly happened down there in the conference room? Microsoft claims that it talked to its partners about the hardware event, but no specifics were actually provided, which means that Asus, just like anyone else, attended the conference to see what the new Surface was all about.

We did expect a Surface laptop to see daylight during the event, but nobody imagined it to be so advanced, hence the anger on Shih's face, who instantly became aware that Microsoft might cannibalize their sales.

When asked about this, Microsoft confirmed that it indeed briefed OEMs about the event, but no specifics were provided because confidentiality is a priority.

“Microsoft strives for a complementary approach with our OEM partners, with transparent communication on our vision for Microsoft devices and how we intend to compete with Apple to grow the Windows ecosystem. We shared details about the Microsoft devices event with our OEM partners, but we did not share details about specific devices in advance.”

“Confidentiality is common across the ecosystem, but our relationships with our OEM partners are paramount. We’ve enjoyed traveling the world over the last week to celebrate new Windows 10 devices with many of our partners.”

Certainly, turning from friend to foe isn't the thing that Microsoft wants to do when trying to bring Windows 10 on 1 billion devices by 2017 because, to do this, it obviously needs the support of all OEMs. Asus might not agree to do that any longer, so it'll be interesting to see how Microsoft manages to cope with this new challenge of keeping OEMs on its side.