Microsoft Surface Phone release date, specs news 2016: New flagship smartphone to be announced this October?
Microsoft has not yet formally confirmed the idea that it will be expanding its Surface technology to smartphones. Its recent Surface devices like the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book were met with high sales performance and satisfying ratings from the tech analysts and enthusiasts. In spite of the lack of information regarding the so-called Surface Phone, the rumors are rife that the much awaited big reveal will happen this October.
As early as now, there are rumors that the Surface Phone will finally be announced by Microsoft in the coming months. In fact, it was speculated that the Redmond-based tech giant will use their IFA 2016 appearance this week in Berlin, Germany to unveil the Surface Phone, iTech Post reported. As of writing, the IFA event is still running. It formally started last September 2 and is expected to end on September 7, so there are a few days left for Microsoft to surprise the public with a big Surface Phone reveal, that is, if the company has really decided on releasing a new Surface device.
However, there are other sources suggesting that Microsoft will not be appearing on the remaining sessions of the IFA 2016. If anything, Microsoft will not be unveiling the Surface Phone this month. Instead, the company will be waiting for another month for them to showcase their latest smartphone flagship. PC Advisor suggested that Microsoft might just wait for October to formally announce the Surface Phone. Aside from the Surface-based Windows handset, it is also rumored that Microsoft will be unveiling the next iteration of the Surface Pro in the last quarter of this year. Therefore, it is possible that Microsoft may opt to showcase the Surface Pro 5 along with the Surface Phone this coming October.
As for the rumored specs of the Surface Phone, it was reported by MSPowerUser that the device, then codenamed as "Project Juggernaut Alpha," will be having an impressive aluminum and magnesium unibody, a 5.5-inch AMOLED display and Clear Black Gorilla Glass 4. This classic exterior is not only visually attractive but also effective in keeping the device protected.
The Surface Phone is rumored to sport either a 3 GB or 4 GB RAM and powered by an Intel Atom x3 SoFIA processing chipset. It is expected to have 64 GB and 128 GB internal storage variants, and both of these variants will have up to 256 GB worth of expandable storage via microSD card.