Microsoft Surface Phone 2017 release date, latest news: Microsoft announces vital partnership with Qualcomm

Amee Florence Payno Thursday, December 15, 2016

The Microsoft logo is seen as part of a display at the Microsoft Ignite technology conference in Chicago, Illinois, May 4, 2015. | Reuters/Jim Young

The rumored release of the Surface Phone in 2017 by Microsoft has continued to gain ground and a lot of attention.

It is widely known that Microsoft has had very little success in the mobile phone industry, failing to significantly contend against industry giants such as Apple, Samsung, and Google. Its latest mobile phone release was in 2015 with the Microsoft Lumia 950, and the device hardly made its mark in the industry. Hence, many believe that Microsoft will soon be dropping the Lumia brand in favor of its more commercially and critically successful Surface product line.

Although there is no specific confirmation from Microsoft about the existence and release date of the Surface phone, the gadget is believed to be on its way. At the very least, it has already been confirmed in a previous report that Microsoft is currently working on the "ultimate mobile device."

This is further supported by a recent report from Trusted Reviews that Microsoft has teamed up with Qualcomm in order to adapt the Windows 10 desktop experience to smartphones using the Snapdragon processor chips. The partnership between the two tech giants was announced at the WinHEC event in Shenzhen, China earlier this December. This partnership further fuels speculations that the upcoming Surface Phone will be powered by the Snapdragon 385.

Other rumors have suggested that the Surface Phone will be launched in three variants: Consumer, Business, and Enthusiast Editions. According to The Bitbag, all variants will be sporting the same 5.7-inch screen and the same metal case design. The difference among the gadgets will lie in the storage capacity and memory of each model.

The Microsoft Surface Phone will be packing with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage for the Consumer Edition, 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage for the Business Edition, and 8 GB RAM and 500 GB storage for the Enthusiast Edition.

The Microsoft Surface Phone is rumored to be released next year.