Microsoft's more powerful Surface tablet, the Surface Pro 2, is a little thicker than the Surface 2 due to housing higher-powered Intel Core-series chips, so it would take some feat of engineering to pack similar power into an even smaller, more portable Surface.
As such, it's more likely that the Surface Mini will pack an less powerful Intel Bay Trail CPU, which would allow it to run full-fat Windows 8.1 without being a bloater. That's a likely possibility in the view of Chinese website WPDang, which reckons an ARM-based version running Windows RT may also be in the works.
Surface head Panos Panay kept us guessing by saying that the division is working on devices with "multiple aspect ratios and sizes".
Until the Surface Pro 3 rocked the boat with its 3:2 aspect ratio, previous Surface devices came with 16:9, so it's possible that a Surface Mini could follow suit. Neowin, on the other hand, reckons that it'll feature a 7-inch, 1440 x 1080 pixel-resolution display toting the 4:3 aspect ratio that's found on Apple's iPads.
Surface Mini software
In term of software, will the Surface Mini run full-fat Windows 8, or its much-maligned cousin, Windows RT? Many will be hoping for the former, but we're not brave enough to completely rule out a return of the operating system that seemingly refuses to die. (Hey there, Nokia Lumia 2520.)
It's possible that the Surface Mini could feature the same digital pen technology as the Surface Pro 3, which uses technology by N-Trig and is as close to drawing on paper as you wiil experience on glass, according to Microsoft. It can also launch the OneNote Metro app within a second of touching the display, a feature that would make even more sense on a smaller Surface due to its portability.
On the other hand, it may take advantage of the Xbox's Kinect motion capture tech. Sure, Windows 8's Charms and touch-sensitive commands work better on smaller devices, but they're no substitute for a keyboard and mouse, and the ability to control the OS using your limbs may go some way to helping out.
According to WPDang, the Suface Mini will track face and hand movements using gesture-based controls similar to those found on the Samsung Galaxy S4, which will let you swipe through screens using your hand movements and dims the screen when not being looked at.
Surface Mini price
It would make sense for Microsoft to follow Apple's lead by pricing the Surface Mini at a lower cost than its larger Surface models, much as the Cupertino-based company did with the iPad Mini.
Eight-inch tablets running Windows 8 initially hovered around the £340 mark but have dropped considerably in the past year. Acer's Iconia W4 now costs in the region of £240, and Dell's Venue 8 Pro starts at £249, and Lenovo's Miix 2 starts at the same.
The good news is that even if Microsoft does load Windows 8 onto the Surface Mini, it won't likely be doing so at a premium (compared with Windows RT). The company announced in April that it'll be offering Windows 8.1 with devices under nine inches for free, which means you won't be paying a premium to experience full-fat Windows.
Cheaper seems to be the way Microsoft is leaning with Windows devices anyway (Surface Pro 3 aside). In early June, during Computex 2014, Microsoft Vice President of OEM Partners Nick Parker told the Wall Street Journal consumers should prepare for the firm to "reach price points there are very industry competitive" for 7-, 8- and 10-inch devices. Though Parker was certainly speaking to Microsoft's OEM partners, we wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft's next device is a truly affordable Surface Mini.
