14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is expected to take the wraps off what could be called the Surface Phone sometime next year (or even in early 2018, according to some sources), but a leak suggests that the firm might have already decided what the device is going to look like.
These photos coming from China via NPU show what they claim to be the Surface Phone, a super-flagship phone running Windows 10 and coming with features that are obviously yet to be disclosed.
Judging from these photos, it does borrow some of the design cues that were previously used on the Lumia lineup and the device itself looks like a modern version of a Lumia, boasting even the large PureView camera on the back that’s already available on the existing Windows phones.
There are also the typical back, home, and search buttons on the front, as well as the Microsoft logo on the back, just like is the case on the Lumia 950 XL.
It goes without saying that we should take these screenshots with a healthy pinch of salt because there’s a good chance they aren’t real, but on the other hand, they once again show that demand for a high-end Windows phone still exists and Microsoft should really invest in such a device.
Trial production of the Surface Phone
More recently, it was reported that Microsoft and Pegatron started trial production of the Surface Phone, as the company wants to start testing the new model ahead of a possible fall 2017 launch, but a confirmation was never provided.
Microsoft itself has explained that it wants to create the ultimate mobile device, not necessarily to compete against high-end phones running Android or iOS, but to invent new product categories, just like it did with the other models in the Surface lineup.
“For us when we want to do first-party hardware, when we want to do something like the Studio, or Book, or Pro, the number one goal we have is to essentially try and create a new category of device that hasn’t been done before and can expand the market for the Windows ecosystem. We want to do something that hasn’t been done before. We want to create a brand new category,” Chris Capossela, Chief Marketing Officer at the company, recently said.
Of course, this is no confirmation that a Surface Phone is on its way, but given that 2017 is almost here, we should hear more about the company’s mobile plans very soon™.
