Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella hinted recently that there might be a future release date for the rumored Surface Phone but he stopped short of providing the juicy details. The company chief though allowed that the Windows 10 mobile handset will be the "ultimate mobile device" when it comes out.
And 'ultimate' likely means that the upcoming Surface Phone will be distinct from the other smartphones, which could be in terms of functionalities. Reports said the main plus of the Surface Phone over the competition is the Windows 10 platform, specifically the built-in Continuum feature.
Continuum permits the transformation of a mobile device into a full desktop setting by simply hooking it up on a monitor. And this happening smoothly was seemingly confirmed by Microsoft's announced partnership with giant chipmaker Qualcomm.
The collaboration will result to Windows 10 supporting ARM-based chips starting with Qualcomm's next-generation Snapdragon 835. Experts said that with SD 835 powering the Surface Phone, the device will have the ability to emulate x86 applications in a mobile environment that will pave the way for Continuum in full function.
According to Tom's Guide, there Surface Phone will unbox in three editions that will lure in business, professional and average users. And like the Galaxy Note phablet by Samsung, the Surface Phone is likely to include a stylus or a scaled down version of the Surface Pen. This seems to align with the speculations that the device is actually planned by Microsoft as a downsized Surface Pro.
As for the pricing details, the same report is convinced that Microsoft will deliver the Surface Phone with competitive sticker price. The benchmark will likely be the Apple iPhone and flagship Android devices, meaning the asking price for a Surface Phone will range between $600 and $800. But it wouldn't be too surprising if certain editions of the mobile device will be priced beyond $1000, which likely will be true for the professional and enterprise builds.
And the Surface Phone rollout time will greatly depend on two things - the mass availability of SD 835 and the next instalment of Windows 10 update. Per Qualcomm, SD 835 will come out in the first quarter of 2017 as the chip is rumored to be the main engine for Samsung's Galaxy S8.
But it's unlikely that the Surface Phone will drop in the early months of next year since Microsoft has already indicated that the next-generation Surface devices will showcase the fresh features and capabilities that will be revealed by Windows 10 Creators and Redstone 3 updates.
That means the Surface Phone 2017 release date is set following the March rollout of Creators Update, or more likely in the immediate months or even weeks after the scheduled Redstone 3 arrival in August 2017.