Another Brexit bump: Microsoft has increased the cost of its Surface Book laptops for UK consumers.
The company had already made changes to certain of its enterprise products following the impact of the UK’s June referendum vote to leave the European Union on pound sterling. But the precipitous fall in the value of the UK’s currency has now moved Microsoft to rework some of its consumer price-tags too.
A tipster called Nic pointed us to the Surface Book price rises, noting the laptops have increased by £150 across the board — with the base model now costing £1449 vs the prior price-tag of £1,299. So a rise of 11.5 per cent, in that instance.
A spokeswomen for Microsoft confirmed it has raised some consumer prices, telling TechCrunch: “In response to a recent review we are adjusting the British pound prices of some of our hardware and consumer software in order to align to market dynamics.”
She added that the price changes — which came into effect today — only affect products and services purchased by individuals, or organisations without volume licensing contracts.
“For indirect sales where our products and services are sold through partners, final prices will continue to be determined by them,” she added.
Happily for our tipster he bought his chosen Surface Book — the i5, 256GB model — earlier in the week, before the price rises took effect.
“I was considering waiting for the new i7 with performance base that’s due soon, decided it probably wasn’t worth it,” he said, adding: “Glad I went for it when I did! Definitely wouldn’t have bought it at the prices now (even with discount) especially as a new version is probably due sometime this year.”
Microsoft is by no means the only electronics maker inflating consumer prices in the wake of the Brexit vote. Yesterday audio kit maker Sonos bumped up its prices by up to 25 per cent, while Apple raised Mac prices by up to 25 per cent in October. It also increased the price of iOS apps by the same percentage in January.
Expect plenty more such Brexit price bumps coming down the pipe.