iSuppli told CNET that shipments of the device were about 1.25 million, but sales “were significantly lower, maybe on the order of 55 to 60 percent of that figure”, according to Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at iSuppli.
HumanIPO reported earlier this month that sales of the tablets had fallen well short of Microsoft’s target of two million, with UBC analyst Brent Thill claiming the low figures proved customers still prefer iPads to Surface tablets.
iSuppli’s estimates suggest sales of between 680,000 and 750,000.
Alexander did note that the low percentage was not unusual, as she had seen similar percentages with new Android devices.
Thill, however, said the Surface tablet was suffering from heavy competition with the iPad. Apple's products traditionally see a percentage in the mid-to-high 90 percent range, and sometimes 100 percent.
iSuppli also noted the high return rate on the Surface tablets. “If you put the high return rate together with low sell-through [sales out] rate, that's indicative of a problem,” Alexander said.
