Microsoft plans to stop manufacturing its entry-level Surface 3 tablet by year's end, the company announced today. The Surface 3 first launched back in May of 2015 as a more affordable 2-in-1 designed to attract students and those who might have gravitated more toward an iPad instead of a full-blown laptop. Quite a few sites dedicated to Microsoft and Windows news noticed of late that stock for the device has been running low, and ZDNet confirmed the company would be winding down production over the next six months.

"Since launching Surface 3 over a year ago, we have seen strong demand and satisfaction amongst our customers," Microsoft said in a statement. "Inventory is now limited and by the end of December 2016, we will no longer manufacture Surface 3 devices." There is no known successor to the device in the works. Microsoft's Surface Pro 4 came out back in October of last year alongside the Surface Book laptop, and Microsoft has been silent since regarding any hardware upgrades.

Microsoft may wait until 2017 to introduce new hardware

ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley says Microsoft may be waiting to finish the next big overhaul to Windows 10, known internally as Redstone 2, before introducing new 2-in-1s. That may not happen until early next year, which means Microsoft hardware would be woefully out of date by the time the Surface 3 is discontinued. Though Microsoft could always refresh its line-up this fall, as it's typically done since the first Surface device in 2012.

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