Asus Dumps Windows RT

Asus VivoTab

Last month, Microsoft surprised a lot of investors when it announced that it had to write off $900 billion mostly because of poor Surface RT sales. It seemed like out of the few people who actually bought a Windows tablet from the company, most opted for the full Surface Pro, running Windows 8. Still, Microsoft has reaffirmed its commitment to Windows RT and plans to keep shipping updates and new versions of the lower OS version aimed at ARM processors. However, in the end the decision may be forced onto it.

In the biggest Asian computer show, Computex Taipei, not a single company showed off a new Windows RT tablet. And now, it appears Asus is the latest device maker to officially announce that it would no longer be making tablets with this version of Windows on it. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Asus said that it had lost money with its Windows RT tablets, and so it had to discontinue any new product in those lines. Instead, it will focus on Intel tablets running the full Windows 8.

It's not a big surprise that consumers shy away from RT. Even though both systems have the same user interface, none of the traditional Windows software runs on the RT models. Only the modern apps, created especially for Windows 8's new start screen, will also run on the ARM tablets. This may also support the hints that few developers are interested in making Windows 8 modern UI apps, and instead focus is still on traditional desktop software. Still, Microsoft says that it remains committed to RT, and they announced a new version of the Surface tablet, so if you really do like RT, there are still options out there.