Microsoft Surface 3 is on its way out, no replacement confirmed just yet

Microsoft still has some soul-searching to do before deciding what’s next in the hardware-manufacturing field, with Lumia phones likely on the verge of extinction, but the Surface lineup almost guaranteed for an expansion… eventually.

Unless the fabled Surface Phone is due out as a replacement of sorts for the entry-level Atom-based Surface tablet family. That makes little to no sense, since we’re talking completely different product categories, but Redmond just confirmed to the press it “will no longer manufacture Surface 3 devices” by “the end of December 2016”, staying mum on the prospect of an eventual sequel.

If a Surface 4 is nonetheless in the pipeline, trustworthy tipsters hint a release could line up with the introduction of the Windows 10 Redstone 2 update, recently pushed back to early next year. It however remains unclear if near-certain follow-ups for the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book shall also wait until spring 2017 to see daylight. Probably not.

Last but not least, the Microsoft Band 2 appears to greatly resemble the Surface 3, in that supplies are “currently limited”, end-of-life status no doubt looms large, and a successor may or may not break cover this latter part of the year or the former of the next. So many question marks, so few definite answers.