While Microsoft is currently offering big discounts on its Surface Pro 4 tablet in the UK, it's gone in completely the opposite direction in setting the UK prices for its new Surface Pro, which it announced earlier this week.
In the United States, the cost for each of the new Surface Pro tablets is identical to the equivalent Surface Pro 4 models, despite over 800 improvements in the new device. But in the UK, where Microsoft already raised its Surface Pro 4 prices by up to 12% in February, citing Brexit-related currency fluctuations, each new Surface Pro is considerably more expensive than its predecessor.
In addition to those increases in February, Microsoft UK has priced each new Surface Pro significantly higher than its corresponding Surface Pro 4 model. Considering that the Pro costs no more than the Pro 4 in the US, that effectively represents a second major price rise for UK buyers in just over three months.
The table below shows the original price for the Surface Pro 4; the price of each model from February following the 'Brexit' price rises; and the cost of the new Surface Pro model. It also shows the relative price differences at each increase, and the overall difference between the cost of the Surface Pro 4 at the beginning of the year and the prices that UK buyers will have to pay for the new Surface Pro.
| Model | Original Surface Pro 4 price |
Price from Feb 2017 |
Price of new Surface Pro |
Overall increase since Jan 2017 |
| Intel Core m3 4GB RAM / 128GB SSD |
£749 (with Pen) | £749 (No Pen) |
£799 (+ £50 / 6%) |
£50 / 6% |
| Intel Core i5 4GB RAM / 128GB SSD |
£849 |
£949 (+ £100 / 12%) |
£979 (+ £30 / 3%) |
£130 / 15% |
| Intel Core i5 8GB RAM / 256GB SSD |
£1,079 |
£1,099 (+ £20 / 2%) |
£1,249 (+ £150 / 14%) |
£170 / 16% |
| Intel Core i7 8GB RAM / 256GB SSD |
£1,299 |
£1,369 (+ £70 / 5%) |
£1,549 (+ £180 / 13%) |
£250 / 19% |
| Intel Core i7 16GB RAM / 256GB SSD |
£1,449 |
£1,549 (+ £100 / 7%) |
No longer available |
n/a |
| Intel Core i7 16GB RAM / 512GB SSD |
£1,799 |
£1,899 (+ £100 / 5.5%) |
£2,149 (+ £250 / 13%) |
£350 / 19% |
| Intel Core i7 16GB RAM / 1TB SSD |
£2,199 |
£2,359 (+ £160 / 7%) |
£2,699 (+ £340 / 14%) |
£500 / 23% |
The greatest increase in price can be seen on the range-topping Surface Pro model with 1TB of storage. Microsoft already raised the price of the 1TB Surface Pro 4 by 7% in February, but the new Surface Pro will cost an additional 14% more , on top of that earlier increase. That means that the 1TB Surface Pro is priced £500 (23%) higher than the equivalent Surface Pro 4 cost in January.
Microsoft's decision to set even higher UK prices for the Surface Pro comes after the pound sterling has been gaining strength against the US dollar over the last few months. It recently rose to around $1.30, after it had fallen to $1.25 when Microsoft announced its previous price increase in February.
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