The first two generations of Microsoft Surface tablets have each consisted of a single Surface and a Surface Pro. But there are more signs that Microsoft will diversify its Surface lineup in the future. Rumours have been hinting at a Surface Mini for a while now and now Panos Panay who heads up the Surface team has effectively confirmed that the Surface family will eventually grow larger.
While attending a Microsoft Store event in Seattle yesterday, he indicated that Microsoft has “a lot of great things that we are thinking about and working on, and there are multiple aspect ratios and sizes and awesome things to come from Surface.” He then added, “That’s the best answer I have for you.”
The current Surface models sport displays with a 16:9 aspect ratio. This had led to criticism that they are difficult if not impossible to use in portrait mode. Perhaps to address this concern, the rumoured Surface Mini tablet is expected to come with a 7.5-inch display with a 4:3 aspect ratio.
Panay also added that Microsoft will release an LTE-enabled Surface 2 early next year. It will first launch with AT&T in the U.S. and Vodafone in Europe. He also confirmed that there will not be an LTE version of the Surface Pro 2.