Rumors of the Surface Phone 2017 release date, said to be fired up by a reengineered Windows 10 Mobile OS, are heating up anew following the hints provided by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella that the next smartphone his company will produce is packed with game-changing and unique mobile device experience.
Nadella confirmed that research is already underway for Microsoft to put together the "ultimate mobile device." If indeed this handset will be called the Surface Phone, the company chief visualized it as something that will redefine the smartphone market.
"We will continue to be in the phone market not as defined by today's market leaders, but by what it is that we can uniquely do in what is the most ultimate mobile device," Nadella was reported by MacRumors as saying. The Microsoft head was recently interviewed by the Australian Financial Review.
This new statement serves as the most solid proof that a Surface Phone or at least a Window 10 smartphone from Microsoft is in the works. Previously, the only clues on the existence of device were benchmark leaks and renders.
And when realized, Nadella's vision of the device is something that will stand out in terms of form factor and functionalities. One area that the Microsoft chief would want the Surface Phone to delve on is artificial intelligence or AI.
"We don't want to be driven by just envy of what others have, the question is, what can we bring? That's where I look at any device form factor or any technology, even AI," Nadella said.
Early leaks and renders of the Surface Phone suggested of a powerful device with specifications and capabilities that are of desktop pedigree. And one key feature of Windows 10, Continuum, will supposedly permit the use of a device as a fully functioning PC when hooked up with a monitor or television.
According to GSM Arena, "using x86 CPUs would definitely help enrich the experience, opt for a full-fledged Windows platform and break free from the Universal apps limitations." One possible device template for the Surface Phone is the HP Elite x3, if only for its hybrid feature that fuses mobile and conventional computing.
Nadella did not provide a specific timing for the supposed Surface Phone arrival but a likely release date would be sometime in the second half of 2017 or around the time that Windows 10 Redstone 2 Update has been rolled out.