What is it now? Two years since he moved to Amazon. Did he have a hand in the latest batch of Kindles? He loved the limelight so it makes me wonder if Bezos has put him in their own corporate jail.
Not just Ralf Groene, but many other Microsoft top hardware folks (as explained in the article). 2026 may be a VERY interesting year for Amazon - how about a non-Snapdragon Windows on ARM Fire Max?
UPDATE: It also bodes poorly for the Surface lineup (from Sean Endicott at Windows Central):
"My guess, which is based on previous reports and the most recent Surface devices, is that Microsoft will count certain products as "wins" and will keep those around. The chance of seeing form factor defining products or devices that take bold steps that may not pan out seems lower than ever. I hope I'm wrong and that Microsoft surprises us at its upcoming event or later this year.
Let's take a quick look at what's next for Surface in 2025, according to our senior editor Zac Bowden. His sources indicate that Microsoft plans to ship "new versions of the Surface Pro, Surface Laptop, Surface Laptop Studio, and maybe even a new 11-inch Surface of some kind." Bowden clarified that the 11-inch device is likely a new Surface Laptop that will replace the Surface Laptop Go.Add that expected lineup with the recent cutbacks to experimental devices, and you get what will likely be a straightforward — and dare I say boring — year for Surface.
None of those devices are particularly surprising or innovative. It's always nice to see new chips in quality hardware, but I don't predict a lot of buzz about anti-reflective coating and a chip refresh."
Well, now we REALLY know what happened to Panos - he is reassembling the Surface design team at Amazon:
Not just Ralf Groene, but many other Microsoft top hardware folks (as explained in the article). 2026 may be a VERY interesting year for Amazon - how about a non-Snapdragon Windows on ARM Fire Max?
UPDATE: It also bodes poorly for the Surface lineup (from Sean Endicott at Windows Central):
"My guess, which is based on previous reports and the most recent Surface devices, is that Microsoft will count certain products as "wins" and will keep those around. The chance of seeing form factor defining products or devices that take bold steps that may not pan out seems lower than ever. I hope I'm wrong and that Microsoft surprises us at its upcoming event or later this year.
Let's take a quick look at what's next for Surface in 2025, according to our senior editor Zac Bowden. His sources indicate that Microsoft plans to ship "new versions of the Surface Pro, Surface Laptop, Surface Laptop Studio, and maybe even a new 11-inch Surface of some kind." Bowden clarified that the 11-inch device is likely a new Surface Laptop that will replace the Surface Laptop Go.Add that expected lineup with the recent cutbacks to experimental devices, and you get what will likely be a straightforward — and dare I say boring — year for Surface.
None of those devices are particularly surprising or innovative. It's always nice to see new chips in quality hardware, but I don't predict a lot of buzz about anti-reflective coating and a chip refresh."