Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. Legacy Archives

Microsoft now offering free Touch or Type Covers with Surface RT tablet purchase

Add as a preferred source on Google
surface-touch-covers
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Back in October, Microsoft entered the tablet races by introducing its Surface tablet. The company had obviously grown tired of rival Apple owning that sector of the consumer electronics market and set out to compete with its own tablet. Months down the road, the Surface seems to be doing just okay, and Microsoft is continuing to provide support and upgrades to a happy crowd of followers. But moderate success doesn’t seem to be what the company was aiming for, and its looks some sort of promotion may be in need of helping Microsoft’s RT tablets sell.

Starting May 31, and for a limited time, Microsoft is tossing in a Touch Cover, Type Cover, or Touch Cover Limited Edition (a $120 and up value) with the purchase of a Surface RT tablet. There are a variety of color options, and a few different styles. The Type Cover only comes available in black, but the Touch Cover can be had in red, cyan, magenta, white, and black. If you’re feeling artsy, you can grab a Touch Cover Limited Edition, which is available in a blue skull pattern or a pink flower pattern.

Recommended Videos

This news comes directly from Microsoft’s Surface blog, in which the company states this is a limited time offer. Unfortunately, there is no mention of a date of expiration or anything pertaining to when the offer may end. So, if you’ve been on the fence about grabbing the Surface tablet, now is a good time to grab one. The Touch Cover will run you an extra $120 when its not on sale, and the Limited Edition and Type Cover will both set you back $130. You do have the option to bundle the cover with your purchase, but its still going to run the price up a hefty $100. Unfortunately for those of you who already purchased a Surface, you aren’t eligible to receive a free cover and must purchase another tablet to get this limited time offer.

Russ Boswell
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Russ Boswell is an aspiring video game and technology journalist from Colorado. He's been an avid gamer since he was old…
Microsoft Edge is about to get more frequent updates, but don’t expect more features
Starting with Edge 152 on August 27, Microsoft is cutting its release cycle in half, with smaller but more frequent updates for Stable channel users.
Microsoft Edge illustration official

Microsoft is accelerating updates to its Edge browser, switching from a monthly release schedule to a biweekly one. The change takes effect with Edge 152, due on August 27, and puts the browser on the same cadence as Google Chrome.

More updates, not more features

Read more
What makes a laptop good for both work and entertainment?
Computer, Electronics, Laptop

This post is brought to you in paid partnership with HP.

The HP OmniBook X Flip is designed as an all‑day AI PC that adapts seamlessly from productivity to entertainment without switching devices.

Read more
Your Windows 11 PC can now natively run AI workloads, even if it lacks the Copilot+ badge
Windows 11 laptop on a table

For the better part of a year, Microsoft has been telling us that the future of AI on Windows belongs to Copilot+ PCs. If you wanted Microsoft’s most advanced local AI features, you needed a machine with a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU). That was the deal. Now, Microsoft appears to be rewriting the rules.

According to updated documentation, Windows 11’s local Language Model APIs can now run on non-Copilot+ PCs, provided they have an Nvidia GeForce RTX 30-series GPU (or newer) with at least 6GB of VRAM. On the surface, this sounds like a developer-focused update. In reality, it could be one of the most significant shifts in Microsoft’s AI PC strategy since Copilot+ PCs launched last year. More importantly, it raises a question that has been lingering ever since the AI PC era began: Did we really need NPUs for all of this in the first place?

Read more