Incase Designed by Microsoft: Microsoft accessories live on under new partnership
Microsoft announced in April 2023 that it would discontinue all Microsoft-labeled accessories in favor of its Surface brand. While Microsoft offers some accessories under the Surface brand, it is offering a limited range of accessories only.
Products like Microsoft's Ergonomic Keyboard, webcams or joysticks are not available under the Surface brand.
Incase, a company known for its laptop and phone accessories, announced today that it entered into a strategic partnership with Microsoft to relaunch the company's PC accessories in 2024.
The devices will be offered under the Incase Designed by Microsoft brand. Incase promises that the name change will be the only difference that users will notice.
Incase will use the same supply chain and manufacturing components as Microsoft, which guarantees, according to Incase, that the products will have the same quality and functionality as Microsoft's original accessories.
A page on the Incase website lists the first products that Incase plans to release in 2024. This includes several ergonomic keyboards, mice, headsets and a webcam.
Core Microsoft accessories, including several ergonomic keyboards, like the Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard, as well as mice will live on under the new brand.
Here is the full list of products that will soon launch under the Incase Designed by Microsoft brand:
Keyboards
- Sculpt Ergonomic Desktop
- Sculpt Comfort Desktop
- Wireless Comfort Desktop 5050 AES
- Wireless Desktop 850
- Wireless Desktop 900
- Wired Desktop 600
- Sculpt Ergonomic Keyboard
- Ergonomic Keyboard
- Wired Keyboard 600
- Bluetooth Keyboard
- Designer Compact Keyboard
- Bluetooth Number Pad
Mice
- Mobile Mouse 1850
- Bluetooth Ergonomic Mouse
- Bluetooth Mouse
- Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse
- Modern Mobile Mouse
Other devices
- Modern Wireless Headset
- Modern USB Headset
- Modern USB-C Headset
- Modern USB-C Speaker
- Audio Dock
- Modern Webcam
The products will launch later in 2024. Incase has yet to announce the regions that it will sell the products in or the price the products will be sold for.
Incase plans to launch new products under the designed by Microsoft brand as well. This will include products that Microsoft had in its pipeline but did not release after it announced the discontinuation of the products.
The very first product will be a new ergonomic keyboard according to Onward Brands CEO Charlie Tebele. Onward Brands is Incase's parent company.
As far as the deal is concerned, Incase is licensing the designs from Microsoft. Neither party disclosed terms of the deal at this point.
Closing Words
The company has never produced PC products such as keyboards or mice before, and the move gives it a significant push when entering the market. Some products need to evolve over time and it remains to be seen how Incase handles these cases.
Microsoft did reveal the Surface key recently, which Incase might want to add to the keyboard products in the long run.
Incase may already look beyond the initial range of products and start producing its own accessories. Whether these will also be launched under the "designed by Microsoft" brand remains to be seen.
Now You: have you used Microsoft accessories in the past?
This is fantastic news! my old Ergonomic keyboard stopped working and I have been searching high and low to find an equivalent to the Microsoft ergonomic, I can’t wait for this to be released!
I’ve been using my white Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite for 25 years.
When it needs cleaning I take it apart and put the plastic parts in the dishwasher. You can still find them new for about $250.
I’m also using a 20 year old Microsoft D67-00001 Trackball Optical Mouse. $400 new on Ebay. It has 5 buttons across the top and the ball is under the thumb. It’s also the only trackball mouse big enough to actually rest your entire hand on, unless your a child or an elf.
Ergonomically it’s the best mouse ever made, especially for gaming. Engineering wise, it has one fatal flaw. The three tiny bearings the ball ride on were made of steel and end up with flats spots worn into them. Replacing them with Silicone Nitride Ceramic bearings cures that.
Someone please tell Incase to re-release this iconic device …
.. with the proper bearings and unpdated electronics (higer polling rate for todays larger monitors) and updated software. (Originally the software could store custom profiles for any exe you wanted. Of course windows 10 broke the software and now we have to use X-Mouse)
Their product range needs to include a wired mouse for people with larger hands as well (Logitech mice are too small).
Either a “Microsoft Classic Intellimouse”, but fix the scroll wheel so that it doesn’t keep failing (randomly jumping/scrolling on it’s own after six months), or the wired “Microsoft Ergonomic Mouse”.
PS2 Mouse ?? !!
I do use the large wired Microsoft mouse and like it for its physical size and software driver.