Panos Panay is leaving Microsoft. Is the upcoming Surface event in trouble?
Panos Panay introduced the Surface Laptop 5 Surface event 2022So we naturally expected Microsoft’s chief product officer to unveil the next generation of laptops and tablets on Thursday. “What’s on Thursday?” you ask. The 2023 surface event. But this time Panay will not be present.
On September 18, Panos Panay caused a stir in the technology landscape after tweeting about his departure from Microsoft. “I am forever grateful for my time at Microsoft and the amazing people I had the honor of building products with,” said Panay.
The tweet may have been deleted
As The edge emphasized that Panay’s departure was sudden and unexpected. After all, just last month, he tweeted about how “excited” he was to be at the Surface event on September 21st in New York. Accordingly Windows CentralThe Redmond-based tech giant is reportedly launching a new Surface Laptop Go 3, Surface Laptop Studio 2 and Surface Go 4.
A Microsoft Surface Pro 10 may also be in the works, introducing a new variant (an 11-inch tablet) alongside the more familiar 13-inch model. However, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus in the rumor mill as to whether it will appear at the Surface event. (Windows Central suspected that it will be presented at Windows vNext – not on Thursday).
Where is Panos going next?
Accordingly BloombergCiting “people familiar with the situation,” Amazon is hiring Panos to replace Dave Limp, the major retailer’s former hardware chief. He will lead the Alexa assistant and Echo smart speaker division. Panos will be replaced by Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s consumer chief marketing officer.
Panos joined the Microsoft bandwagon in 2004 as a program manager for PC software. In 2021, Panos joined the company’s leadership team as Executive Vice President, a role that allows Panos to work closely with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. During his tenure, Panay led the company through many key products and services, including the Surface lineup and Windows 11.
Accordingly CNBCAlthough the Surface Laptop lineup inspired other PC OEMs to follow Microsoft’s playbook (such as the 2-in-1 convertible form factor), after ten years on the market the devices failed to do more than one gain a few percentage points. Bloomberg also mentioned that Microsoft has “reduced” Surface operations in recent years, likely due to slower selling products.
Microsoft Surface family
Image credit: Microsoft
What does Panos’ departure mean for the upcoming Surface event? The livestream, scheduled to air on September 21st at 1:00 p.m. ET, will continue as planned. Expect a variety of Surface devices, as well as some AI updates to Bing, Microsoft Edge, and Microsoft 365.
