Microsoft had been widely expected to unveil its Surface Mini tablet at the press event it held back on May 20. In fact, the press invitation for the event seemed to suggest that it would get the spotlight. Instead, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Pro 3 and word quickly followed that new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Executive Vice President Stephen Elop decided just days before the event not to announce the Surface Mini.
While Microsoft has never confirmed the existence of the smaller Surface tablet, the Surface Pro 3 user manual all but confirms that it exists as it is riddled with references to the Surface Mini. These do not necessarily mean that Microsoft will release the Surface Mini. It is more likely that these are the result of poor proofreading. The Mini’s user guide likely formed the basis of the one for the Surface Pro 3 and someone(s) simply failed to update the references.
The Surface Mini was to have come with a 7.5-inch WXGA+ (1440×1080) display with a 4:3 aspect ratio. It would have been powered by a Qualcomm processor and Windows RT.
While it remains to be seen if the Surface Mini will ever see the light of day, select models of the Surface Pro 3 begin to ship today.
Sources : Surface Pro 3 User Guide (PDF) // @thurrott