Surface Plus is a brand new initiative from Microsoft. As recently outlined in an official blog post, individual users can finance a Surface Pro, Surface Laptop or Surface Studio for one low price. After 18 months, participants will have the option to upgrade to the latest model.
Before getting to businesses, let’s start with the individual plan that will likely impact the vast majority of our readers. On the whole, Surface Plus for consumers is a 24-month finance program with a fluctuating price based on the initial expense of the product. It’s offered with zero percent APR, provided the debt is paid off within that time. If not paid in full, the interest rises to 20 percent after the two years expires.
The real value for Surface Plus, however, is the option to upgrade to a brand new device after 18 months. Users must return their old model and stay enrolled in the program, of course, but it’s a neat way for Microsoft fans to always have the very latest hardware at their disposal. Beyond that perk, Surface Plus customers will also be privy to Microsoft Store benefits like warranty options and hassle-free returns.
Surface Plus for Business is a similar idea with a few unique twists. Business installments can be paid over 18, 24 or 30-month periods. Owners can also add an unlimited amount of devices to their portfolios, including the 55-inch Surface Hub. For an extra $8 per month per device Office 365 is thrown in as well.
Microsoft is essentially bringing the device subscription model adopted by the smartphone market to its line of Surface devices. In some ways it could be worthwhile for all users, depending on how they wish to leverage its benefits. Casual consumers on a budget, for example, can use Surface Plus as an easy way to afford a fairly expensive Surface. The tech-savvy buyer, on the other hand, can stay enrolled in the program and keep getting the latest and greatest models as soon as they arrive.
In the long term, a plan like this seems to suggest that Microsoft intends to fully refresh its Surface line of products every 18 months. After all, a subscription service like this is only valuable if there’s a new version to show when that subscription rolls over. Especially as Microsoft continues to pivot toward more iterative Surface changes every year, 18 months is definitely a pace the hardware maker can keep up with. A shift like this may mean that not every Surface is a groundbreaking addition to the family, but as long as it’s got the latest chips, there will likely be some improvement over its predecessor.
While Apple has tied similar agreements to iPhones over the years, we’d be interested to see how something like this might be applied to an iPad Pro or even a MacBook. We’re not sure if this is a concept the Cupertino kids would experiment with, but it’s an intriguing idea nonetheless.
Surface Plus is available now online and in the Microsoft Store. Read more about the plan here.
Does Surface Plus sound like something you’d want? Does having the latest Surface Pro or Surface Laptop matter to you? Tell us in the comments section!
