Windows is almost certainly the most well-known and enduring product produced by Microsoft. But the company’s mice have been available on the market for even longer.
A year or two before the Macintosh and other computers made pointing devices commonplace and two years before the initial release of Windows, Microsoft began selling its first computer mice in 1983. In 1994, the Microsoft Natural Keyboard came next. Since then, the business has provided a variety of PC accessories bearing the Microsoft trademark, ranging from long-lasting innovations like the Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard to brief-lived ones like the Microsoft SideWinder gamepads and joysticks.
The Microsoft brand is disappearing, but so are the mice and keyboards it makes. Following a series of layoffs that affected its hardware division, the company informed The Verge that it will stop selling keyboards, mice, and other accessories bearing the Microsoft brand. The business will target its efforts on more expensive Surface-branded keyboards and mice, which make up a very small portion of the total number of accessories Microsoft now offers.
Microsoft’s Dan Laycock stated, «Moving ahead, we are focusing on our Windows PC accessories portfolio under the Surface brand. «We will continue to provide a variety of PC Accessories under the Surface brand, such as mouse, keyboards, pens, docks, adaptive accessories, and more. While stocks remain, Microsoft-branded PC accessories including mouse, keyboards, and cameras will continue to be offered for sale in current markets at the same sell-in rates.
The main question is whether Microsoft plans to continue producing less expensive, more affordable peripherals under the Surface brand or if it wants to completely stop making these goods and concentrate only on more expensive, higher-margin gadgets.
For instance, the least expensive wireless mouse sold under the Surface brand by Microsoft typically costs $40, while more expensive models can cost significantly more. Typically, a Bluetooth chiclet keyboard with the Surface logo costs $100. Versions of items without the Surface name that perform similarly but cost approximately half as much are typically also made of less expensive materials.
Additionally, Microsoft sells a number of ergonomic add-ons that are not yet available under the Surface brand, including the Ergonomic Keyboard and Mouse, the Sculpt Comfort Desktop, and the Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop. (Microsoft did provide a Surface Ergonomic Keyboard at one point, albeit it has been discontinued). The current Surface lineup also lacks any low-cost standalone webcams.
We’ve contacted Microsoft to get more information about its strategies for its budget-friendly and ergonomic accessories, and we’ll update this article if we hear back.