We’ve heard rumors about Microsoft working on a smaller version of Surface for years, but now the company is finally ready to officially the Surface Mini to the world. The company has already sent invites to a number of individuals from the media to join a “small gathering” Microsoft Surface event on May 20th, 2014.
Although Microsoft isn’t technically saying that the event is to introduce the long-awaited Surface Mini tablet, it’s very likely the company will indeed unveil a new smaller version of the tablet. As far as we know from previous leaks, the Surface Mini will be a 7- to 8-inch tablet (perhaps a 7.5-inch) with an unusual screen resolution of 1440 x 1080 pixels and with 4:3 aspect ratio, which would be very similar to Apple’s iPad, but with the difference that it will come with some sort of stylus.
Also it’s likely for Surface Mini to run under a Qualcomm processor, meaning that it will also run Windows RT and not the full version of Windows 8.1. Therefore legacy desktop application won’t run in the mini version of the tablet.
Recently an early post listing from Amazon.com featured a case that would only fit the Surface Mini and that it will be available on May 18th, strongly suggesting Surface Mini could also be available the same day.
There still a lot questions to be answered, but obviously that’s why we’ll have to wait until May 20th. Among the information we don’t know there is pricing, processor (Intel or ARM-based), how the company plans to sell the tablet, and if we’ll have a Surface Mini with LTE or only a Wi-Fi version.
According to a new report from ZDNet, Satya Nadella, current Microsoft CEO, is also expected to attend the Surface event on May 20th.
SEE ALSO: Surface Mini to go on sale in June with click-in cover, stylus, and OneNote deep integration