While Microsoft’s New York event taking place on Tuesday was supposed to be about the Surface Mini – a 7-inch to 8-inch tablet meant to fight against similarly sized devices running iOS or Android – Computer World has learned that Microsoft will not actually unveil such a Windows tablet. Instead, the company will announce Surface Pro 3 models that will have bigger screens, possibly going up to 12-inch in size.
The publication cites several unnamed sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans. Apparently, Microsoft is more interested in using a bigger Surface Pro to compete against tablets and premium notebooks, than going into a price war in the 7-inch to 8-inch tablet market.
The company’s Office productivity suite, one of its main software weapons, is better suited for bigger displays rather than smaller ones, with analysts revealing that the Surface Pro 2 has gain “traction in corporate environments, both because it runs legacy Windows applications and could conceivably replace both a tablet and a notebook.”
“Surface Pro is making some headway in corporate environments,” Research analyst Ross Rubin said. “The big improvements we saw in the Pro 2 in terms of performance, thickness and battery life made it a much more appealing offering.”
Recent reports have revealed that various Surface Pro 3 models will be unveiled during Microsoft’s event, detailing certain design changes for a bigger Surface Pro 3 model, including a larger screen and the relocation of the Windows button. The new Surface Pro 3 will be available in various configurations, starting at $799 and going all the way up to $1,949.
