The rumored Surface Mini was supposed to be the star of the show at this month's Microsoft Surface event if you believed the industry whispers, but the device was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the powerful and light Surface Pro 3 made its debut, but was the Surface Mini ever in development--and is it still on the way?
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According to CNET, the product is still very much in the works. Sources tell the site that components for a small Surface device are still being seen, though it doesn't appear ready for an unveiling any time soon.
"From the supply side of it, we continue to see activity from them on the [smaller] Surface product," Rhoda Alexander, who directs IHS Technology's monitor and tablet research, told CNET. "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 added.
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Alexander correctly predicted the Surface Pro 3 and some of its details prior to its unveiling, so this information is likely worth noting. Bloomberg recently reported that Microsoft has gotten cold feet about a Surface Mini, thinking that it wasn't different enough from the competition to be successful. As such, it was pulled from the Surface event where we saw the Pro 3, but was originally meant to appear.
Alexander tracks display activity in the industry, though, and does not believe Microsoft would have ordered such high volume of components recently if it planned on scrapping the Surface Mini. Perhaps it's getting more time in development for a rethink that will help it stand out on the market, so keep an eye out for more news.
