It’s been a leaky year for Microsoft, and now it seems that one of the most leaked devices on their schedule for this year has been cancelled. You all remember the Surface Mini, we reported on it many times, showing related products, possible specs, you name it.
Well, in a recent announcement in its earnings report, Microsoft has claimed that they are now apparently too poor to continue with production of their Surface range ‘in a new form factor’. The announcement reads like this.
‘Current year cost of revenue included Surface inventory adjustments resulting from our transition to newer generation devices and a decision to not ship a new form factor.’
What a load of old waffle, but it does seem like the company is not going to continue with the Surface Mini at this time. However, reports are coming in the Microsoft are going to potentially increase the size of a new Surface tablet, as opposed to making it smaller.
Making a device smaller is often more difficult, as internal components have to be downsized or reshuffled, whereas making one larger means more space and easier construction options, so on a depleted budget it makes more sense for Surface to size up.
When we reported on the May 20th Surface event, we were expecting the Mini to make an appearance, but the device seemingly disappeared at the last minute, with no sign of it at the event, which ultimately focused on the Surface Pro 3. The Mini has been leaked numerous times, such as on Amazon and in manuals for other Surface products.
As a final note, Microsoft is continually not making many strides into the tablet market, with its market share in that sector a mere 3% in 2014’s first business quarter. Interest in their products is allegedly growing in the business sector, mainly due to the Surface’s dual purpose tablet and notebook capabilities, plut its ability to run legacy windows applications.
Whether this is enough for the computing giant to continue in the tablet direction remains to be seen. We’ll keep you posted on anything more about Surface and the Surface Mini when information comes to light.
Source: Microsoft