It’s been a long time since we last saw any exciting release from Microsoft. The impatiently-awaited Surface Pro 5 and Surface Book 2 devices are still nowhere to be seen and will probably be launched early next year according to the latest rumors. Meanwhile, the company is working on the Surface Phone, and if the new reports are anything to go by, then the Surface smartphone will be launched next year.
Let’s first talk about the latest hint dropped by Microsoft about the Surface Phone. As reported by VineReport, the Redmond company is definitely working on Windows Mobile phones and we will see a release soon. Microsoft’s Build Tour 2016 was held in London a few weeks back, where the Corporate VP of Windows, Kevin Gallo, said that “Windows Phone is fully supported. We’re fully behind it. We’re not abandoning the phone.”
This clearly means that Microsoft is developing the Surface Phone and might release it by the end of this year or probably by early next year. TheNewsIndependent reported that even though Microsoft’s previous plans with Windows Mobile have been more or less flops, the Surface Phone will definitely boost the company’s market share in the smartphone segment. The phone is expected to be launched in March 2017, but it’s not official yet.
According to a TheREM report, the Microsoft Surface Phone will use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 830, which will be the next flagship mobile SoC from the chipset maker. The SD 830 will power smartphones in 2017, which again hints towards the Surface Phone release date being early 2017. The Snapdragon 830 will not only provide great performance but will also come with lesser overheat issues and will also help extend the battery life.
An IBTimes report suggests that the Surface Phone launch may kill the Lumia lineup completely. The Surface Phone is expected to be released in three different variants for different category of users divided into “general”, “prosumer”, and “enterprise”. The smartphone will carry up to 8GB of RAM, 128GB internal storage, 20MP Carl Zeiss rear camera with triple LED flash, and more. Accessories like S-Pen, keyboard attachment, and possibly modular attachments are expected for the device.
With 8GB RAM and up to 128GB internal storage, Microsoft seems to be targeting the enterprise users mainly. These are the users who prefer to do all their important business on their phone and hence want a powerful and versatile device. The Surface Phone is also rumored to come with Continuum feature that will allow the users to connect a display, mouse, and keyboard to the phone to use it like a desktop PC. The smartphone might be priced around $1000, but this is just a speculation.
Of course, the rumors should be taken with a grain of salt until Microsoft comes out to announce or reveal something about the Surface smartphone.