Australians won’t have to wait long to get their hands on the Surface 2 and the Surface Pro 2 – with both tablets are coming out on October 22, the same time as the Americans are getting their hands on it. Now, we know how much you’re going to pay for it as Microsoft Australia this morning confirmed the prices:
The Surface 2 will start at AU$529 – that’s the base 32GB model; while the Surface Pro will start at AU$1019. The full pricing is below:
| Product | AU Pricing | US Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Surface 2 32GB | AU$529 | US$449 |
| Surface 2 64GB | AU$639 | US$549 |
| Surface Pro 2 64GB + Pen | AU$1019 | US$899 |
| Surface Pro 2 128GB + Pen | AU$1129 | US$999 |
| Surface Pro 2 256GB + Pen | AU$1469 | US$1299 |
| Surface Pro 2 512GB + Pen | AU$2039 | US$1799 |
Interesting thing to note, according to Lifehacker Australia’s Angus Kidman, is that the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 doesn’t seem to have the dreaded “Australia Tax” – also known as the reason why most electronics, like the iPhone, are more expensive in Australia compared to America. We’ve done our own little calculations to see if they are to see if this was true – and, as you can see down below, it is.
Note: the base USD to AUD rate, at the time of writing, was $1.06
| Product | AU Pricing | US Pricing in AUD | + GST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surface 2 32GB | AU$529 | AU$475.38 | AU$522.92 |
| Surface 2 64GB | AU$639 | AU$582.26 | AU$640.47 |
| Surface Pro 2 64GB + Pen | AU$1019 | AU$951.83 | AU$1047.01 |
| Surface Pro 2 128GB + Pen | AU$1129 | AU$1057.70 | AU$1163.47 |
| Surface Pro 2 256GB + Pen | AU$1469 | AU$1375.33 | AU$1512.86 |
| Surface Pro 2 512GB + Pen | AU$2039 | AU$1904.71 | AU$2095.18 |
In fact, some of the higher end Surface Pro tablets are actually cheaper in Australia when you convert the US prices and add GST (I should note that the US prices don’t have any taxes on them as each state has different taxes on products, unlike Australia’s uniformed GST). However, the savings aren’t much – if you purchase the high-end Surface Pro 2 512GB model, you’re only saving $55.
Of course, you can obviously just purchase the Surface 2 online in order to not pay the GST, but you can’t do that for most of the Surface Pro 2 line-up. The GST tax-free threshold for import goods is at $1000, and most of the Surface Pro 2 will not eligible. The Surface Pro 2 base model – the 64GB model – doesn’t fall outside the threshold itself, but it may attract the GST depending on your delivery method.
Now, if we can only get the Australian tax removed on other products (like the iPhone 5c), then we’ll all be happy.