Microsoft Surface Phone release date, specs rumors: Three variants of rumored Surface Phone coming out in 2017?

The rumored Microsoft Surface Phone could be one of several Surface devices that Microsoft is gearing up to launch in 2017.

According to rumors, because most of the devices in Microsoft's Surface line are selling well, the tech giant has expanded the range to include smartphones.

Recently, a photo taken at Microsoft's Building 88 in Redmond, Washington seems to have added credibility to the rumors of a Microsoft Surface Phone. The photo, which was posted on Twitter by app developer Shubhan Chemburkar, shows a display of upcoming Microsoft Surface devices.

In the photo, four of the slots in the display are unfilled. In lieu of the devices, there are labels with the dates 2016 and 2017. One slot is labeled "2016" while three are labeled "2017."

This has been taken by some to mean that the Microsoft Surface Phone is coming in 2017 and that there will be three variants of the device.

According to Christian Today, the Surface Phone will be targeted at entrepreneurs and will be priced for the high-end market.

Reports also say that the three variants of the Microsoft Surface Phone could include an entry level option with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor and 3GB of RAM, a midrange variant with 6GB of RAM, and a high-end variant with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage.

According to Mobipicker, there has been talk that the most expensive of the three variants will feature an Intel Atom X3 processor. The website also noted that the rumored Microsoft Surface Phone could come with the Continuum feature that allows a Windows smartphone to function as a PC with the addition of a display, a keyboard, and a mouse.

Aside from these features, the Microsoft Surface Phone is said to come with a Surface Pen, a 20-megapixel rear camera, and an AMOLED display.

Microsoft is yet to formally announce the rumored Microsoft Surface Phone.