Earlier this month, at an event in New York, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Pro 3 tablet. But that was not the only product we were expecting to see that day. The long-rumored Surface Mini whose specs among other information had leaked before was nowhere to be found. Later we learnt that Microsoft may have canceled the reveal of the product at the last minute. Now a new report suggests that not only does the tablet exist, but it could launch this year.
In an interview with CNET (which I saw via Neowin), Rhoda Alexander, an analyst at IHS technology, reveals the spike in sales of a particular sized display between last year and earlier this year. “From the supply side of it, we continue to see activity from them on the (smaller) Surface product,” said Alexander. Though, she is hopeful that something could happen later this year. “As it currently stands, it does not look like it’s ready to launch in the near future. But that’s something that we’re watching for later this year,” she said.
Alexander notes the spike in the orders of a particular display size – over 100,000 units in the fall of 2013, and then again in April 2014. But as Alexander says, the company wouldn’t be buying such giant numbers for nothing. “I don’t see them purchasing that kind of volume if they’ve canceled the product.”
At this point, we are not sure what Microsoft has planned for the Mini tablet — that is, if it actually exists, but there are also reports that suggest that Microsoft has called it quits on the Mini tablet. A recent Bloomberg report stated that the company’s CEO Satya Nadella and Executive Vice President, Stephen Elop didn’t see the point of having Surface Mini as too many competitors had already ventured into that segment.
Further reading: Microsoft, Surface Mini
