According to Digitimes, Microsoft's Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 2-in-1 are expected to see weaker-than-expected shipments in the fourth quarter because of Intel Skylake processor shortages.

The situation is so bad that some orders have been postponed to the first quarter of 2016. Redmond and its make supplier Pegatron have refused to comment on the news.

However Digitime’s deep throats said that the Surface Book's monthly shipments will have a chance to surpass 100,000 units and around 200,000 units for Surface 4 in the first quarter.

Other rivals had to dramatically reduce their orders for the first quarter of 2016 because of seasonal factors but Redmond’s orders for these high-end devices are expected to stay strong and are giving Apple’s products a major rival for once.

The Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book are mainly targeting Apple's products as their major competitors and is hoping these machine to become a demonstration to its notebook brand partners.

Since most of its partners' product prices are lower than the Surface 2-in-1s, the Surface products are mainly served as a complement to the brand vendors' products.