0992.HK - Lenovo Group Limited
| Previous Close | 5.080 |
| Open | 5.100 |
| Bid | 5.130 x 0 |
| Ask | 5.140 x 0 |
| Day's Range | 5.100 - 5.230 |
| 52 Week Range | 4.930 - 7.580 |
| Volume | 55,353,758 |
| Avg. Volume | 31,861,137 |
| Market Cap | 62B |
| Beta (5Y Monthly) | 1.53 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 13.05 |
| EPS (TTM) | 0.393 |
| Earnings Date | Feb 19, 2020 - Feb 24, 2020 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 0.28 (5.53%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | 2019-11-27 |
| 1y Target Est | 0.73 |
- Bloomberg
Lenovo CEO: Uniform Standards for 5G Needed Across Countries
Nov.21 -- Lenovo Group Ltd. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Yang Yuanqing talks about the importance for companies across the world to cooperate in the technology industry, and the need for a uniform standard for fifth-generation mobile technology. He speaks at Bloomberg's New Economy Forum in Beijing.
- Financial Times
China tech/Lenovo: battle standard
Beijing has ordered all government offices and public institutions to remove foreign computer equipment and software within three years. This comes as little surprise following US sanctions on Huawei and a ban on US federal dollars spent on Chinese telecom and surveillance equipment. On the face of it, China’s shift to domestic hardware should mean more orders for local tech groups.
- Business Wire
Lenovo Global Study Reveals Employee Satisfaction Gap with SMBs Linked to Poor Tech Provision
Nearly 38 percent employee respondents state that technology issues are a major distraction at work – e.g. A new global study commissioned by Lenovo™ (HKSE:992) (LNVGY) finds that close to half (40 percent) of all SMB employees who participated in the study are dissatisfied with their work environments.
- Simply Wall St.
Lenovo Group Limited (HKG:992) Delivered A Better ROE Than Its Industry
While some investors are already well versed in financial metrics (hat tip), this article is for those who would like...
- Bloomberg
Bill Gates Says His Axed Nuclear Reactor Is a Trade War Warning
(Bloomberg) -- Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here. When Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates tried to build an experimental nuclear reactor in China, his plan was thwarted by U.S. foreign investment restrictions. At Bloomberg’s New Economy Forum this week, Gates described the scuttled reactor project as “a five-year setback for technology.”A chorus of industry leaders, economists and researchers echoed Gates’ cautionary tale during the event in Beijing. Trade tensions between China and the U.S. have spilled into business and economics in tangible ways, they warned, including a slower pace of technological progress and scientific research. If relations between the two superpowers don’t get back on track soon, “we’re in danger of going back to the dark ages,” said Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang. “We need to reestablish some level of trust between initiatives that can really promote and benefit the people of two countries.”Open systems will inevitably win out over closed ones, Yang argued. He also cautioned U.S. companies that doing business in China may require some uncomfortable compromises.“The challenge with doing business across countries with different value systems is really starting to be more apparent,” he said. “Foreign companies that choose to operate in China have to face the fact that you have to comply with their rules.”Several Chinese tech company officials said they still wanted to work with American companies and that together, the two countries could further technological progress. “We’re in the 5G era, let’s not go back to the 2G or 3G era, where we had different standards,” said Lenovo Chief Executive Officer Yang Yuanqing.Cooling political relations between Washington D.C. and Beijing have slowed international collaboration. In May, the U.S. subjected Huawei Technologies Co. to a variety of sanctions, citing security concerns. The company and other Chinese tech sector boosters believe the move was motivated more by fear of China’s rising influence over fifth-generation networking gear and artificial intelligence.Huawei is Micron Technology Inc.’s largest customer, and on Thursday in Beijing, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra told Bloomberg TV that the company has no plan to move U.S.-based manufacturing out of the country to facilitate supply to China.Mehrotra was one of more than a dozen top tech company executives to attend the two-day forum, which was organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. Most were cautiously optimistic that one way or another, tech companies would find a way to work across borders.It’s important to differentiate between the stance of the U.S. government and that of industry, said Parag Khanna, Managing Partner at FutureMap. “There’s always been a ‘silicon curtain’ when it comes to social media for U.S. companies,” he said, referring to the separate ecosystems that have developed in the U.S. and China. “But on hardware side, that’s the last thing they want.”He said the head of supply chain at a major U.S. semiconductor supplier told him recently that they “don’t have a plan B for international revenue and access to a large important market like China. We have to find a way to keep selling to China.”Zhu Min, chairman of the National Institute of Financial Research at Tsinghua University, put a finer point on it. Chinese imports accounted for about 65% of the $480 billion global chip market, he pointed out. “If trade friction stops chip exports to China, I think the whole global chip industry will break down,” Zhu said.While global business leaders may want to sidestep the political and trade tensions and simply get back to making money, that no longer seems possible, said Diana Choyleva, chief economist at Enodo Economics.“This is about a clash of ideology in terms of how the different systems view the internet, data, privacy and digital governance,” she said. “Whoever wins the technology race will be the global dominant power.”A growing digital divide threatens to be expensive, as companies spend more on their own technological independence and compensate for the limitations of their domestic markets, said Hong Chen, CEO of the Hina Group, a Beijing-based advisory and private equity firm.“But it also creates opportunities,” he said. Huawei, for example, might not have built its own mobile operating system if it knew it could rely on Google’s Android operating system. American sanctions were “a wake up call,” he said, spurring Huawei to create its own operating system that now attracts a whole new generation of app developers.For smaller companies without Huawei’s deep pockets, the opportunities are more constrained. Spencer Deng, a co-founder of robotics startup Dorabot, which is backed by Kai-Fu Lee’s Sinnovation Ventures, said he built his business on the premise of unrestricted, cross-border trade.“A separate supply chain will create a slower movement of goods,” he said. “That causes a slowdown for business and it’s not good for anyone.”\--With assistance from Colum Murphy and Gao Yuan.To contact the reporter on this story: Shelly Banjo in Hong Kong at sbanjo@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net, Janet Paskin, Colum MurphyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Business Wire
Lenovo and Intel Fuel Harvard University’s First Liquid-Cooled Supercomputer, Create Visionary Council to Drive Broad Adoption of Exascale Technology
RALEIGH, N.C.-- -- Lenovo and Intel deliver advanced supercomputing infrastructure to enable discoveries into earthquake forecasting, predictions on the spread of disease and star formation Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Research Computing’s newest supercomputing cluster performs 3-4x faster with the upgrade of Lenovo’s ThinkSystem SD650 NeXtScale servers with Neptune™ liquid cooling ...
- MarketWatch
Motorola is back with a new Razr flip phone — for $1,500
Motorola is bracing for the future by returning to the past. The company is adapting its historical flip-phone design for a smartphone with a foldable screen.
- Bloomberg
Motorola Brings Back the Razr as $1,500 Foldable Smartphone
(Bloomberg) -- Motorola is rebooting the iconic Razr flip phone as a 6.2-inch smartphone with a foldable display that gives the Lenovo-owned brand a unique selling point against Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.’s finest.The new device reprises the Motorola Razr name and looks like a modernized version of the original. It costs $1,499 and will be available for pre-order in December in Europe and as a Verizon exclusive in the U.S., ahead of its retail arrival in January. For Lenovo Group Ltd., which has a tiny fraction of the global smartphone market, it's an effort to build brand awareness in the U.S. via a halo device.Launched in late 2004, the first Razr became a cultural icon in the U.S., sold 130 million units and was the face of the phone industry before Apple launched the iPhone in 2007. Motorola’s new model has a shot at some fame as well, as it’s set to become the first true foldable phone on the market — every other device so far could more properly be described as a foldable tablet — and company executives have told Bloomberg they are confident that their design won’t succumb to the durability issues that pushed back Samsung’s Galaxy Fold launch.The 2019 Razr is no bargain, but compared to the $1,980 Galaxy Fold or Huawei Technologies Co.’s $2,600 Mate X, it’s the most affordable member of the most expensive modern phone category. The compromise that users will have to accept with the Razr is in some of its specifications: it has a small battery at 2,510mAh and runs the older Android 9 Pie operating system on Qualcomm’s sub-flagship Snapdragon 710 chip. It lacks the 5G option and bountiful memory of its rivals. Aside from the U.S. and Europe, it’ll also be on sale in Latin America, Asia and Australia.Motorola President Sergio Buniac said he doesn’t see the launch as a “silver bullet” for rocketing Motorola’s sales up to Apple and Samsung numbers. Over the past several quarters, Motorola has turned its mobile business from a flailing unit of China’s Lenovo to profitability in many markets, he said. The new Razr is intended to continue that even without strong sales. Buniac said he’s hoping for “a little bit more” demand than supply, while Lenovo Chief Operating Officer Gianfranco Lanci said “it will bring greater awareness to the brand, especially in key markets like North America.”Motorola’s take on foldable phone design is markedly different to the first batch of foldable devices. Instead of a vertical hinge that makes it open like a book, the new Razr opens and closes like a classic flip phone. Closed shut, the phone is a square that’s about half the size of an iPhone 11 Pro Max, and Motorola has used the foldable technology to make one of the most portable phones on the market. In the process, it’s brought back the action of flipping the phone shut to hang up calls, which is something most premium smartphone consumers haven’t done in at least a decade.Samsung is planning to introduce its own square-shaped foldable phone as its second Galaxy Fold device early next year. Until that time, Motorola looks set to be all alone in offering a regular smartphone capable of collapsing into a pocket-friendly clamshell.“We wouldn’t be bringing the product to market if we didn’t think it was ready,” said Buniac, underlining Motorola’s belief in the reliability of its particular hinge and fold design. Samsung’s Galaxy Fold had issues with air bubbles popping up beneath the display and tiny particles getting trapped under the screen. Touting a so-called zero-gap design, Buniac said “Our expectation is that we will have a reliable product, and as we launch you will see, but we are confident in what we achieved.”In a brief hands-on test with the Razr, the handset felt and looked impressive. Its screen felt fragile, but the device’s design chief Ruben Castano said “We feel like we’ve really developed a robust solution,” pointing to stainless steel structural plates between the bottom of the inner screen and the device’s internals. He says that layer will help prevent particles like sand from going into the device’s electronics and breaking the display. There’s also a 2.7-inch exterior touchscreen for quick access to commonly used functions and checking notifications.Similar to Samsung, Motorola will offer 24-hour turnaround replacements under a standard warranty for display failures, and it will charge $299 if the issue falls out of warranty in the U.S. The phone will be sold via Verizon Wireless as the exclusive launch carrier in the U.S. and will be available at Verizon and Walmart stores from January.The Razr’s inner display appeared impressive with a high-resolution panel whose crease was more subtle than the one on the Galaxy Fold. When unfolded, the Razr operates like most other Android phones, running a full touchscreen version of Google’s operating system. The external screen is designed for light interactions like answering calls and texts, but like the front screen on the Galaxy Fold, it’s not something most consumers are likely to use much. The new Razr is a flip phone at heart and that’s how most people will want to use it.Castano said that Motorola started working on a foldable design around 2015 and that its biggest challenge was being able to match the first Razr’s ability for the phone to be fully shut with no gap. Like the original Razr, the 2019 model has a chin at the bottom that houses electronics such as the LTE antenna. it also has a notch at the top of the main display, lacks a headphone jack, and will be available only in black and with 128GB of storage without further upgrade options. Its camera and battery specs are underwhelming, though Motorola promises “all-day battery life” without quoting an exact number of hours.Motorola’s other big task will be to prove itself at the super premium end of the market that’s long been dominated by Samsung and Apple. Since the first Razr, the Motorola brand has worn many hats, having served as a middling iPhone counter with the Verizon Droid, gone through a $12.5 billion Google acquisition and eventually ended up in the hands of Lenovo. It now needs to rebuild its own brand identity.But the Razr’s shortcomings may very well not matter. This device is designed to appeal to those nostalgic for the flip phone era, for whom specs may not be a priority, as well as the early adopters of new technology, who are more tolerant of first-generation imperfections. To contact the author of this story: Mark Gurman in Los Angeles at mgurman1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Vlad Savov at vsavov5@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Business Wire
Lenovo™ Collaboration With Starlight Children’s Foundation® Shows the Power of Virtual Reality to Reduce Pain for Hospitalized Children
Today, Lenovo previews results from a new global survey that shows people believe in the potential of technologies, such as Virtual Reality (VR), to positively impact our health. In fact, VR is starting to be used in some hospitals in place of general anesthetics to alleviate pain for young patients.
- Bloomberg
Lenovo’s Profit Jumps 20% After Fending Off HP, Dell
(Bloomberg) -- Lenovo Group Ltd.’s quarterly earnings surged 20% after the Chinese personal computer giant safeguarded its market share against American rivals HP Inc. and Dell Technologies Inc.Net income rose 20% to $202.2 million in the three months ended September. That compares with the $201 million average of analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue increased 1% to $13.52 billion, versus the $13.7 billion average of 10 analysts’ estimates.Lenovo expects the global demand to “remain volatile amid a complex macro environment,” the company said in a statement, adding that it’s “well positioned to manage complex and dynamic market conditions.”Lenovo was responsible for nearly a quarter of worldwide PC shipments last quarter, thanks to a strong push in Europe, the Middle East and Japan, according to IDC, an industry research firm. The 17.3 million units shipped helped the Chinese company claim top spot in the market, beating long-time competitors HP and Dell.But Chief Executive Officer Yang Yuanqing has warned about uncertainty from U.S.-China trade tensions, which could disrupt its global business as well as a supply chain that stretches from North Carolina to Wuhan, China.Also on Yang’s checklist are plans to revive the datacenter business, which is suffering from sluggish demand because clients tend to cut back on hardware expenses amid economic uncertainty. The smartphone unit could also use a face-lift, as a business that’s shown few signs of growth outside of North and Latin America.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Gao Yuan in Beijing at ygao199@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Edwin Chan at echan273@bloomberg.net, Colum MurphyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
Lenovo second-quarter profit jumps 20% on strong personal computer sales
Chinese personal computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd reported a 20% year-on-year jump in second-quarter profit on Thursday, slightly beating analysts' estimates, on the back of strengthening demand for its products. Lenovo's net profit in the quarter ended September rose to $202 million, compared with an average estimate of $199.59 million by eight analysts, according to Refinitiv data. China's Lenovo Group, the world's largest PC maker, warned in August that it would have to raise prices if U.S. tariffs increased, and that shifting manufacturing from China to avoid tariffs could further bump up costs.
- Business Wire
Lenovo Q2 Momentum Powered By 9th Consecutive YoY Quarterly Revenue Growth, Strong, Positive PTI and Net Income Growth
HONG KONG-- -- Group revenue grew year-on-year for the ninth consecutive quarter, reaching US$13.5 billion Pre-tax Income grew 45% year-on-year to US$310 million Net income up 20% year-on-year to US$202 million Lenovo continues to be the world’s #1 player in the global PC market with record shipments of 17.3 million units, including double-digit premium segments growth Software and services revenue* ...
- Bloomberg
Xerox Considers Takeover Offer for HP, Dow Jones Reports
(Bloomberg) -- Xerox Holdings Corp. is considering a cash-stock offer for the $27 billion PC giant HP Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported, a deal that could combine two of the biggest American names in office hardware.Xerox’s board met Tuesday to deliberate a deal that could result in $2 billion of annual cost savings, the newspaper cited unidentified people as saying. While there’s no guarantee the company will follow through, any offer would value HP at a premium to its market value, the Journal reported. Representatives for the companies weren’t immediately available for comment after regular business hours.Xerox, which a day before agreed to jettison a slice of a venture with Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp. for $2.3 billion, may be angling to take over the world’s largest maker of personal computers after China’s Lenovo Group Ltd. Any deal would buttress its share of the printing and copying market, which has been hard-hit by the global move toward cloud computing and other internet services.It’s unclear how Xerox -- a name synonymous with the copying industry -- intends to finance the acquisition of a company several times its market value. Xerox has already secured an informal funding commitment from a major bank, the Journal reported, on top of proceeds from the sale of its stake in Fuji Xerox.HP itself, once an icon of American technological innovation, is struggling in a plateauing PC market with the advent of smartphones. The company, which appointed a new chief executive officer just last month, aims to slash as much as 16% of its workforce as part of a restructuring meant to cut costs and boost sales growth amid its first change in top leadership in four years. HP’s printing business, a major source of profit, has seen falling sales and recently was dubbed a “melting ice cube” by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein.HP’s shares were largely unchanged in low-volume extended trading.(Updates with more details from the Journal from the first paragraph)To contact the reporters on this story: Edwin Chan in Hong Kong at echan273@bloomberg.net;Nico Grant in San Francisco at ngrant20@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Peter Elstrom at pelstrom@bloomberg.net, Fion Li, Colum MurphyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Business Wire
Lenovo Announces Black Friday, Cyber Monday Deals
Shoppers wanting the latest technology at the lowest prices should head to lenovo.com for the annual Lenovo Holiday Sale, November 28 through December 2. Popular items will be on sale all weekend, including discounts up to 45% on all ThinkPad laptops and dozens of limited-time doorbuster deals.
- Simply Wall St.
Is Lenovo Group Limited’s (HKG:992) 13% ROCE Any Good?
Today we'll evaluate Lenovo Group Limited (HKG:992) to determine whether it could have potential as an investment...
- PR Newswire
Lenovo Visuals Business Unit Cements Status as Industry Leader
HONG KONG , Oct. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Lenovo's (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) exceptional monitors and messaging campaigns have cemented its status as a leader in the electronics industry. Lenovo Visuals ...
- MarketWatch
Global PC shipments grow for second straight quarter amid tariff, supply issues
Global PC shipments grow for a second quarter in a row, even as the industry struggled with supply issues, according to trade research data Thursday.
- Bloomberg
Global PC Shipments Climb 1.1%; Lenovo Keeps Grip on Top Spot
(Bloomberg) -- Worldwide shipments of personal computers increased 1.1% in the third quarter from a year earlier, fueled by companies upgrading to Microsoft Corp.’s latest Windows software.PC shipments climbed to 68 million units in the period that ended Sept. 30, researcher Gartner Inc. said Thursday in a report. Lenovo Group Ltd., the China-based owner of the ThinkPad lineup of professional devices, held almost 25% of the global market, widening its lead against U.S. rival HP Inc.Computer makers have been concerned by the U.S.-China trade war and Intel Corp.’s chip shortage, but Mikako Kitagawa, a Gartner analyst, said neither played a major role in the third-quarter shipments. “The Windows 10 refresh cycle continued to be the primary driver for growth across all regions,” she said in a statement.HP, the global No. 2, continues to be the largest PC vendor in the U.S. The company has sought customers seeking more expensive machines, such as gaming enthusiasts, to boost profit margins. Dell Technologies Inc., which focuses on selling corporate PCs, rounded out the global top three while Apple Inc. held the fourth spot with 7.5% of the worldwide market.To contact the reporter on this story: Nico Grant in San Francisco at ngrant20@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Andrew Pollack, Molly SchuetzFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Business Wire
Lenovo and Intel Power Computational Research at the Flatiron Institute
Lenovo and Intel enable researchers at the Flatiron Institute to analyze massive datasets derived from the quantum domain to genomics to the cosmos. Lenovo and Intel today revealed how their collaboration on joint technology solutions that accelerate the convergence of high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) is helping scientists at the Flatiron Institute solve scientific challenges in entirely new ways. The Flatiron Institute, located in New York City, is the internal research division of the Simons Foundation, whose mission is to advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences.
- Business Wire
Lenovo Software Delivers Cloud-Based Classroom Orchestration Platform for Windows and Macs
Lenovo (0992.HK) (LNVGY) today announced that its popular LanSchool Air cloud-based, classroom orchestration platform is now available for Windows and Mac environments, in addition to its current Chromebook support. With millions of devices in classrooms today using a variety of platforms, this new capability enables any school to implement LanSchool Air easily across all existing devices. As a pioneer in classroom management technology, Lenovo Software is committed to providing innovative products that empower educators to inspire the best outcome for every student.
- Bloomberg
Microsoft Is Back in the Phone Game, This Time With Google’s Android Software
(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. unveiled a dual-screen, foldable phone that will run on Google’s Android operating system, jumping back into the handset market after product failures and costly writedowns pushed it out three years ago. The phone, called the Surface Duo, has two 5.6-inch screens and will ship in time for the 2020 holiday season, Microsoft Chief Product Officer Panos Panay said at an event in New York Wednesday. With the Duo, Microsoft will seek to seize a share of a massive global market for mobile phones that’s on the cusp of transitioning to new technology with the arrival of 5G networks. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella took Microsoft out of the phone business in 2016, three years after the purchase of Nokia Oyj’s handset unit for more than $7 billion failed to arrest Windows’ sliding share in the smartphone market.Since then, company executives have repeatedly said Microsoft wouldn’t re-enter that market unless it had something different to offer. A return to phones this time has Microsoft relying on software rival Google’s Android for the operating system. Android powers the large majority of smartphones around the world. “This is an aggressive move that was not expected by the Street,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives. “We view it as a smart strategic gamble by Nadella to jump back into the deep end of the pool on the smartphone front.’’ The new phone makes sense for Microsoft because any company that's serious about hardware needs to have a mobile play, said Ryan Reith, an analyst at research firm IDC. The most interesting thing about the announcement is the dual-screen form, Reith said. It's likely Microsoft made that choice because a regular phone wouldn't have stood out as much among the dozens of alternatives already out there, he said.The move also draws Microsoft further into a hardware business some investors still haven’t warmed to. Microsoft shares were down 2.2% to $134.01 at 12:31 p.m. in New York. Nadella has been quick to embrace rival products where it advances Microsoft’s goals, such as apps for Android and Apple Inc.’s iOS, and using the Linux operating system within Windows and Azure cloud products.The European Union’s antitrust ruling against Google last year over the way it puts search and web-browser apps onto Android devices also means Microsoft would be freer to merge its own apps with Android. Since the EU’s case, it's now possible for a phone maker to use Android and the Play app store and still preinstall all of its own services on the homescreen.Microsoft and Google make competing sets of productivity software, and it remains to be seen which company's apps will be preloaded on the phone. Still, it's unlikely the handset will become a major battleground for the two, Reith said.“Both risk their productivity suites competing with each other but there's more short-term opportunity for them collaborating,'” he said.Other announcements made at Microsoft’s annual hardware event include a new Surface Neo laptop with a 360-degree hinge and two 9-inch screens so it can open like a book or like a laptop. The device has a removable, flipable keyboard, which magnetically seals to the back of the device, along with a pen. It will run a new version of Windows 10 designed for dual screens called Windows 10X. The new foldable Surface products come as companies like Samsung Electronics Co. and Huawei Technologies Co. have also rolled out phones with similar features, albeit after some initial design difficulties, and PC makers like Lenovo Group Ltd. have shown computer prototypes with folding screens. Microsoft also introduced a completely redesigned version of its Surface Pro hybrid tablet-laptop that's thinner, lighter and faster than previous models and runs on a customized processor with Microsoft and Qualcomm Inc. technology. Called the Pro X, the device also has a custom artificial intelligence processor and better battery life. The device’s pen gets stowed in the tablet’s cover where it wirelessly charges. Microsoft also showed off white, circular Surface earbuds that have touch controls to enable the user to take calls and switch music. They will be available later this year starting at $249.Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft relies on its Surface devices to boost sales as well as show off its software and attract customers to its family of products. Many of the products have been well reviewed, though Microsoft lags behind Apple and other hardware vendors in popularity. Microsoft held a 3.6% share of the worldwide tablet market in the second quarter of this year, making it the No. 6 vendor with shipments of nearly 1.2 million units, according to IDC. That represents growth of 48% compared with a year earlier. Apple by comparison was No. 1 in with a 38% share.Microsoft also presented a new laptop and an update to the existing Surface Pro device.The new Surface Laptop 3 will have an aluminum exterior finish, “instant on” and a bigger trackpad. The device will be available with a 15-inch screen and fast charging. Panay said the product is three times more powerful than Apple’s Macbook Air. The devices can be pre-ordered starting Wednesday and will be available Oct. 22 at $999 for the 13-inch and $1,199 for the 15-inch. The Surface Pro 7 comes out the same day and starts at $749.Microsoft’s device revenue topped $6 billion in the year that ended June 30, including Surface units and PC accessories, according to its annual filing. The company uses the devices to attract corporate users to its hardware and programs, while Apple dominates the consumer part of the market, according to Wedbush’s Ives. “Surface represents the tip of the spear of the broader Microsoft ecosystem as Microsoft still needs a horse in the race on next generation consumer hardware and devices,” Ives said. “While some investors continue to question this investment as good money going after bad endeavors on Surface, we strongly disagree as this remains a mind and market share strategic gamble.”\--With assistance from Kiley Roache.To contact the authors of this story: Dina Bass in Seattle at dbass2@bloomberg.netGerrit De Vynck in New York at gdevynck@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Molly Schuetz at mschuetz9@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
