30 June, 2017
Microsoft was scheduled to announce a small tablet three years ago alongside the Surface Pro 3, inviting reporters for a "small gathering". Much like typical Surface slates are, it was a squarish device with a pen and a kickstand. The device was never officially unveiled, because CEO Satya Nadella and then-devices chief Stephen Elop axed the product at the last minute, even though Microsoft accidentally left a passing reference to it in a user manual.
It turns out that Windows Central was the first credible site that managed to leak a full image of Surface Mini.
Like the standard Surface, the Surface Mini similarly had an integrated kickstand to prop up the device at various angles.
It's not hard to understand why Microsoft pulled the plug on the Surface Mini. Under the hood, the Surface Mini packed a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor with 1GB RAM, an Adreno 330, and a screen resolution of 1440 x 1080 at eight inches. In terms of the operating system, the Surface Mini ran Windows RT, the doomed variant that was created to support ARM-based processors, which was killed off later that year. The Surface Mini didn't have a Type Cover accessory and was created to be used entirely with pen and touch.
The Surface Mini marks the point where Microsoft chose to stop being a "tablet" manufacturer and focus near exclusively on making devices which were merely traditonal PCs in different form-factors, it worked and surface rode its way to incredible financial and critical success for the firm. However, this is actually part of the Surface Mini. The 8-inch display on the tablet offers 1080x1440 worth of pixels, which is decent for a mid-range tablet released back in 2014. Things have changed quite a bit in the years since.
In 2014, Microsoft planned to announce two new Surface devices.
WindowsCentral has managed to get its hands on details and exclusive photos of the smaller device, and unsurprisingly it looks not unlike a shrunken Surface Pro 3, with a built-in kickstand. There's definitely room for more competition in the space for smaller, premium tablets.
There are rumors that Apple is planning on discontinuing the iPad Mini, which seems like it would be a mistake. The Surface Mini was going to come in a variety of colors, too. A smaller tablet would be flawless for Continuum, something that Microsoft's partners are offering.
The Surface Mini was created to look like digital notebook, as you can tell from the images below, and users would interact with it using touch and a pen.
