Microsoft Surface Phone release date, specs news: Intel's hold on "Braxton" processors may affect Microsoft's latest smartphone?

Microsoft Corporation has been reported busy working on their hybrid laptop and tablet devices, namely the Surface Pro and Surface Book line. While the electronics giant was also seen working on their smartphone models, especially their current mobile phone flagship, the Lumia series, it has been rumored that Microsoft will also be adopting the features of their successful Surface Pro line to smartphone devices. Their up and coming smartphone device, dubbed as the "Surface Phone," is rumored to use Intel's next-generation Atom chip as its microprocessor. However, Intel's latest move might cause trouble for Microsoft and the Surface Phone along the way.

According to the Bitbag, Intel will no longer release its latest Atom chip for mobile phones. The supposedly new generation Atom processor is called the "Braxton." According to the reports, Intel is having a hard time chipping in to new mobile devices.

Microsoft is reportedly looking for the best microchip processor that will best work with their latest mobile phone venture. However, unlike the previous Microsoft smartphones, the company now needs a suitable mobile phone microprocessor that is compatible with the latest Microsoft operating system, Windows 10. According to a report from Fudzilla, finding a suitable chip for Windows 10 will allow the Surface Phone to "jump across platforms" and make itself a highly sellable product that Microsoft intends it to be.

To add, Microsoft has already been pitching a new mobile phone feature called the "Continuum." It is poised to be Microsoft's next "killer app" that will go with the new Windows 10 mobile phone OS. This will allow the user to connect his or her smartphone to a monitor, keyboard, or other personal computer parts and use the phone like a real PC. However, Braxton is believed to work better with this new Microsoft app.

At this point, the Qualcomm and ARM processors may be the best candidates for the Surface Phone, although using the "Continuum" feature with Qualcomm poses some limits.