Microsoft commits to Surface RT slate until 2017

Microsoft’s polarising Surface RT tablet will receive regular updates until April 11, 2017, the company has confirmed. 

So if you have already purchased one of the slates, or are seriously giving it some thought, then you can rest assured that Microsoft has got your back for at least the next four years.

We can’t think of any mobile device on-market that gets the same level of support apart from, perhaps, Apple’s iPhone handsets, which tend to support updates for a good few years before being relegated to the scrap heap. 

However the company’s original iPad – released just over two-years ago – no longer supports full-fat versions of Apple’s iOS updates. With Google’s Android platform, it’s even worse with many new models left languishing on old builds of Android six months after launch.

Microsoft it seems is going all out in a bid to out-perform everybody else in the space with regards to customer support. 

Here’s the official line via Microsoft via ZDNet: 

‘For Surface devices, any Surface software installed, embedded or downloaded on the device is subject to the software life-cycle support policy for that software (unlike other HW devices such as Xbox).’

It added: ‘the hardware support life-cycle policy applies only to the Surface hardware (and as stated above not the Surface software). For Surface devices, that policy affects only the tablet device and hardware based accessories (and for example not to soft goods accessories such as cases).’

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has confirmed that initial sales of his company’s Surface RT slate have been rather modest. However with continued support for the next four years perhaps more of you will be persuaded over to Microsoft’s way of doing things? 

Check out our review of the Microsoft Surface RT