Microsoft Surface Phone release date, specs rumors update: Next Microsoft flagship phone to boast the 'Continuum' app; Release date set late 2017?

Amid the reports that Microsoft will finally put an end to its present flagship smartphone series, Lumia, the speculations grow that the Redmond-based tech company will introduce the first ever Surface Phone. Following the same path of Microsoft's popular Surface devices, the Surface Phone is expected to boast groundbreaking features that no other handsets of this generation ever had.

Unfortunately for those waiting for the Surface Phone, it does not look like the handset's launch will happen anytime soon. According to a report from ZDNet, Microsoft will be having a hardware event on Oct. 26, which will highlight some of the company's biggest offerings for this year. However, the Surface Phone is not likely to get the spotlight during the event. According to a well-known Microsoft analyst Mary Jo Foley, her own trusted sources inside the company are not yet seeing an imminent release of the Surface Phone, more so being released during the October hardware event.

Foley further wrote that if ever Microsoft pushes through with the development of the Surface Phone, the likely release date of the handset will fall sometime in late 2017. This may actually be extended further up to the early months of 2018.

So far, the Oct. 26 event will be introducing a new Surface technology, particularly the all-in-one (AIO) Surface desktop computer. While it is not confirmed, many tech enthusiasts are also hoping for the appearance of the Surface Pro 5 and Surface Book 2 during the event.

On the other hand, the most talked-about rumor regarding the Surface Phone is the new feature to be introduced by Microsoft called the "Continuum." According to iTech Post, the Continuum feature will allow the Surface Phone users to project their handset to a bigger device. Microsoft has been rumored to pitch this new mobile phone feature earlier this year, which is likely to become the company's next "killer app" that will go with the new Windows 10 mobile phone OS. With this, the Surface Phone can be linked to a monitor, keyboard, or other personal computer parts and use the phone like a real PC. 

Other rumored specifications of the Surface Phone include the Qualcomm Snapdragon 830 processor, supported by RAM that can go up to 8 GB.