Microsoft is reportedly making significant improvements on its flagship Surface Phone. Based on the leaked images, the company's upcoming Windows 10 handset will have features that are focused on productivity. Now, here's what is currently known about Microsoft Surface phone release date, specs and rumors on the web.
After the Lumia brand failed to make secure position in the highly competitive smartphone market, Microsoft is now banking on the good reputation of its Surface tablets. Express reported the developers of highly-successful Surface Pro and Surface Book devices were developing the Surface phone.
Leaked photos posted on Baidu gave details on what could be the features of the handset. The images came from Lumia-tipster "Nokiabar" who previously spilled details about the Lumia 650 and the now-cancelled Lumia 850.
Based on the images, the Surface Phone will have a USB-C port and traditional 3.5mm headphone jack. Also, it will have a QWERTY keyboard accessory that also serves as a flip-case cover. This keyboard cover could have similar functions to the Touch Cover line of Surface tablets.
For camera features, the Surface phone is tipped to have a sophisticated 20MP Carl Zeiss lens, similar to the recently released Lumia 950. Under the hood, the handset will be powered by Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 830 chipset which is expected to bring improvements in the processing department.
Take note that Microsoft has not yet confirmed or denied any of these Surface phone-related rumors, so let's take it with a proverbial pinch of salt.
Earlier rumors suggest there could be three models of Surface smartphones. Windows Central published the three variants were aimed at mass-market consumers, business people and "prosumer," or hardcore tech enthusiasts. If this rumor is true, it reflects the statement of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella about the future of Windows smartphones. Last year, the CEO stated he wants to focus the company's goal to "three customer segments," where each model has a unique combination of hardware and software specifications.
For more Microsoft news, Fortune reported the development of Surface phones could greatly affect the Lumia smartphone line. In the company's sales review earlier this year, it revealed only 4.5 million Lumia phones were sold in the fourth quarter of 2015, a 57% decrease from the 10.5 million sold in the same period of 2014. Also, Microsoft had a significant drop in the share of smartphone market. The company only had 1.1 percent as of December last year.
