A report claims that Microsoft is set to launch a new Surface tablet just in time for the holidays. The 10.6-inch tablet will reportedly be released in October and will include Surface Pen support.
Over the last two years, Microsoft has unveiled new Surface tablets in the month of October. The company released the first-generation Surface with Windows RT in October 2012. The slate shipped with Windows RT, a version of Windows that was designed to run on ARM processors. The tablet could only run applications that were downloaded from the Windows Store and not the millions of Windows desktop applications most consumers are used to.
Microsoft released the Surface Pro in February 2013 and unlike the Surface RT, the Pro could run standard Windows applications, as it ran the full desktop version of Windows 8 Professional.
Sales of the Surface RT were extremely poor, causing Microsoft to issue price cuts a few times. The lower price did nothing to help sales and Microsoft announced that it was going to take a "$900 million loss due to Surface RT inventory adjustments" in its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2013.
Microsoft rebooted the Surface RT and Pro line when it unveiled the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 during a media event it held in October 2013. Both tablets featured redesigned cases and kickstands and coincided with the release of Windows 8.1.
It was widely believed that Microsoft was working on a Surface Mini that ran Windows RT 8.1 and included pen support like the Surface Pro models. The tablet was supposed to be billed as the "best note-taking tablet on the market." The Surface Mini was expected to be announced alongside Microsoft's latest 12-inch Surface Pro 3. The company ultimately killed off the mini tablet just prior to its May 2014 announcement.
A new report claims that Microsoft is hard at work on a new Surface tablet that is expected to run Windows RT 8.1 and include the Surface Mini's rumored Surface Pen support built-in.
The publication also claims the updated Surface tablet will feature a 10.6-inch display and a case that's thinner and lighter than the Surface Pro 3. The tablet will enter mass production in September and will be targeted for an October release.
