Microsoft’s Surface tablet garnered a lot of attention when it was released, most notably as a possible competitor to Apple’s iPad.

The Surface, though, never made it to South Africa’s shores and now it seems highly unlikely that it ever will. Microsoft has revealed it will stop making the low-cost Surface 3 tablet, and it doesn’t seem like there will be a replacement.

“Since launching Surface 3 over a year ago, we have seen strong demand and satisfaction among our customers. Inventory is now limited and by the end of December 2016, we will no longer manufacture Surface 3 devices,” Microsoft said in a statement.

If you do want a Surface model, you’l have to settle for the Surface Pro or the Surface Book.

In July last year, Microsoft hinted that the model might be coming to SA, but now we know it isn’t.

In a blog post at the time, the company’s Brian Hall (General Manager for Surface) said that Microsoft will be expanding its Surface 3 retail channel from “a few hundred partners selling and servicing Surface to a few thousand globally in the coming months.”

The big push for Surface naturally coincided with the launch of Windows 10.

“This expansion of our partnerships is directly related to our optimism for much broader success that will come with the release of Windows 10,” he said.

[Via – The Verge]