Microsoft Surface phone expected to launch by 2017, will come in 3 variants: report

Microsoft Surface Phone,will launch by 2017 and will come in three variants, says a new report.

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Microsoft Surface Phone launch is set for 2017, and will come in three variants.

Microsoft’s Surface Phone, which the company’s CMO Chris Capossella referred to as a breakthrough device, will launch in 2017, according to a report.

The report on Windows Central blog cites sources from Microsoft, and says that the phone’s launch the Surface Phone will come in three different variants based on pricing and markets. It also says that the Surface Phone will also mean an end for the Lumia line.

The early 2017 rumours make sense given that Microsoft has delayed Redstone 2, where it will launch new Windows 10 features, to same time period. A report on ZDNet by long-time Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley has said, that the delay is to ensure that the new features coincide with the launch of new hardware from the Redmont-based tech company.

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As far as the Surface phone goes, Capossella confirmed development of the same in a podcast interview.

“We need more breakthrough experiences, breakthrough hardware to get people to move to Windows mobile OS,” he had said in the interview. “It’s gotta be a phone that’s sort of like, ‘Wow.'” He also called it the equivalent of the Windows Surface tablet, which hints at more Continuum features.

Microsoft has been struggling in the mobile space since the launch Windows Phone 7. The addition of basic features have been slow, and app developers have not really jumped on the Windows mobile bandwagon.

Where the mobile strategy for Microsoft is concerned, the company has not talked about this much. At the recent Build conference, Microsoft didn’t focus much on Windows 10 mobile OS, and we’ll have to wait and see if there are more Lumia devices that launch in the course of 2016.

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Also read: Microsoft Lumia 950 XL #ExpressReview: Great phone, but Windows 10 is still a work in progress

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