A rumored image of the much-anticipated Microsoft Surface Phone, which is codenamed as Project Juggernaut Alpha. (Photo : YouTube / PhoneDesigner)
Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 10 will soon natively support ARM-based chipsets starting with Qualcomm's next-generation Snapdragon 835 SoC. And if reports will prove accurate that SD 835 will be the chip to fire up the rumored Surface Phone then the device when released will include x86 emulation and other desktop-class capabilities in a mobile package.
Windows 10 on SD 835 will render the Continuum feature - the ability to use a mobile a device as a desktop or laptop when connected with a monitor - more powerful than ever, The Verge reported. And likely the implementation of such concept will be seen first with the Surface Phone.
But before that, the same report indicated that users will get a first taste of Windows 10 on the ARM platform with the upcoming laptop or 2-in-1s, possibly in the second quarter of 2017. The Verge said ARM-powered Windows 10 machines and mobile devices will not be available until the deployment of the Creator Update for Microsoft's operating system. Launch date is reportedly set March 2017.
Mostly, the devices to expect will boast of longer battery life with integrated LTE or superfast cellular connectivity that were absent in previous Surface devices, and the same goes for the next-generation laptops on the platform. "What this means is you'll be able to buy a lightweight laptop with good battery life and support for Windows desktop apps next year," The Verge reported.
Windows chief Terry Myerson told the publication that Microsoft is heavily invested on the initiative and Windows 10 supporting ARM was in response to customers "asking for devices with better battery life, with cellular connectivity." And it is Qualcomm that can make the concept become a reality with the SD 835.
The latest development somehow affirmed the recent tease of an "ultimate and unique mobile device" from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella that supposedly is already in the works. While Nadella did not specifically mention the Surface Phone label, rumors have it that the device is to become the flagship smartphone to showcase the Windows 10 mobile capabilities.
And recent leaks suggested that the power inside of the Surface Phone is likely the SD 835 chipset.
The Qualcomm chip is said to be ready for mass availability in the first quarter of 2017 but the Surface Phone release date is not expected until the latter months of the year or following Microsoft's scheduled rollout of Windows 10 Redstone 3 Update in July or August 2017.
