14 DAY TRIAL // Everybody expected the May 20 event in New York to bring us the new Surface Mini, but Microsoft actually decided to introduce the Surface Pro 3, a much more powerful device that has a 12-inch screen and comes with significantly improved hardware and new features.
Bloomberg reports that Microsoft had indeed planned to unveil the new Surface Mini at the New York press conference, but the company actually decided to cancel the announcement at the last minute.
Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella and Executive Vice President Stephen Elop actually decided that the Surface Mini isn't much different from the small tablets that are currently on the market and abandoned plans for such a device pretty much because it wouldn't sell.
According to the same report, people close to the development process said that “engineers had been working on the device and had planned to unveil it” at the New York event, but due to the Nadella's decision, Microsoft only presented the new Surface Pro 3.
The Surface Mini was supposed to come in the form of an 8-inch device that would compete against the iPad mini and the Nexus 7, which basically allowed Microsoft to expand its hardware efforts into some new yet-to-be-explored markets.
Previous reports on the development process pointed out that Microsoft was working with Qualcomm to install its chips on the Surface Mini, but the company has refused to comment on such a project.
Microsoft planned to position the Surface Mini as a note-taking device, so the 8-inch tablet would have also been delivered with a digital pen to make writing down notes very fast. Of course, Windows RT 8.1 Update would have been the operating system powering the device, source said.
Unsurprisingly, Microsoft is still looking at small Windows tablets, but if the company decided to develop such a product, it must be a really exciting device, people close to the matter explained. At this point, it's not yet clear whether Microsoft is indeed planning to launch a smaller Surface in the near feature or wait a little bit longer to do it, but the Surface Pro 3 is already making the headlines all over the world.
The Surface Pro 3 features a 12-inch screen and comes with a digital pen to make drawing and wring very easy, while also featuring powerful hardware and a full HD plus display which Microsoft says is pixel-free.