By the holiday season at the end of this year, Microsoft-branded peripherals that had previously been discontinued will return to sale. They will now be produced by Incase, but they will still be labeled “Designed by Microsoft.”
Image source: incase.com
Plans to launch a similar project became known at the beginning of the year, when Onward Brands, the company that owns Incase, announced a deal under which it would be able to produce and sell previously discontinued Microsoft accessories, including keyboards, mice, webcams, headsets, and speakers. Now Incase has confirmed that the products will go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company, which primarily produces backpacks and cases for gadgets, will now even release an ergonomic Microsoft keyboard, which did not appear before the software giant discontinued its line of peripherals under the main brand.
In 2023, Microsoft stopped producing accessories under its own brand, and retained only premium products under the Surface brand. The Intellimouse line of mice will not return now, but the Incase assortment will include the ergonomic Sculpt. You shouldn’t expect a full-scale return to the past – the main brand on the body of the revived devices will now be Incase, but there will also be the “Designed by Microsoft” marking.
If the quality of Incase products is not inferior to the original ones, consumers accustomed to Microsoft-branded products will still have the opportunity to update their peripherals, although it is not yet clear how much it will cost in the new version.