The next Microsoft Ultimate Surface Phone may not be what it’s hyped to become. There isn’t a company out there that is more aware of this than Microsoft. Satya Nadella - the firm’s chief exec - claims his company is on the pursuit of the “ultimate mobile device”. Today, we dive into the highly rumored Surface Phone. It is said that this is the American tech major’s upcoming handset. If online talks are anything to rely on, the gadget could to be just as effective as a PC in your pocket.
A device like the Surface Phone would be a massive bid from MSFT, a company which repeatedly sees its cellphone projects fall flat. The regretful adoption of Nokia’s smartphone business costed several billions. Microsoft is nearly three years into the venture yet the Lumia devices show no promise of getting off the ground. Although the Lumias are not without a small share of avid followers, doing away with the lineup would not come as much of a surprise at this point.
Microsoft’s new push in the smartphone market could come in the form of a Surface device. Nadella admits that his company had to go back to the drawing board with new ideas driving the design and function of their next set of handsets.
“We don’t want to be driven buy just envy of what others have,” the CEO explained to AFR. “What can we bring? That’s where I look at any device form factor or any technology, even AI.”
Looking at the attraction of the Surface gadgets, adding a smartphone to the lineup could prove to be a good move for Microsoft. The products are all shades of innovation and seem to appeal to the world’s hunger for premium tech that defies ordinary conventions. Microsoft Surface gadgets come as something fresh and new. They are are renewed take on what personal and business gadgets should essentially offer. Whether buyers are in search of the ideal personal, creative or business PC, they needn’t look any further than the Surface Book, Surface Pro and Surface Studio to find a gadget that is capable of tasks beyond the capacity of conventional hardware.
A Microsoft PC in your pocket
The all-in-one form factor of the Surface range has pulled in a lot of excitement. It is the very same excitement which rallies behind the Surface Phone. If online talks and executive comments are anything to go by, Microsoft might be working on revolutionizing the mobile device space.
Speculation hints at the Surface Phone being a unique, multi-use device with desktop-level processing. It could revive the QWERTY keyboard or make use of a foldout pad similar to the Surface Pro lineup. It is bound to be a Windows Phone as well. Microsoft is under a lot of pressure to amplify the appeal of the Windows 10 platform on mobile. The HP Elite x3 is said to be a big hint at where Microsoft plans to take Windows Phones. HP’s device is a Windows phone, too. It serves as a perfect example of a smartphone with PC-like capacity.
“What we are going to do is focus [our] effort on places that have differentiation.” Nadella said. “If you take Windows Phone, where we are differentiated in Windows Phone, its manageability, its security, its Continuum capability, that is the ability to have a phone that, in fact, can even act like a PC.”
Surface Phone is doomed to fail
Although, perhaps the biggest deterrent for the Surface Phone is that it would be a Windows Phone. Though not without its share of share of fans, the mobile variant of the Windows OS has a difficult time pleasing the masses. It shares many of the traits that sent the BlackBerry mobile OS crashing to the ground. Windows Mobile is lax in regards to maintenance and its lack of apps renders it unable to keep up with leading smartphone makers.
“I am an user of Nokia/MS Lumia phones for 4 years now,” explains a reader. “No doubt the OS is very well-designed and stable, particularly Windows 10 to which I upgraded a few months back. But of late, I face problems when some of the apps I need to use for financial or banking transactions are either not available or have a poorly-designed version for WIndows platform compared to the same app for Android or IOS. Unless MS takes initiative to resolve this problem, the day is not far off when I will reluctantly switch to an Android phone. It is all good to say that the new Surface phone will double as a desktop but I am not at least interested to do that.”
The reader, who goes by Vijay, is not the only one of this perception. There are others who have shared the same sentiments in more colorful tones. Creating a holistic Windows ecosystem could do wonders for the platform, but there is little love for Windows as a mobile OS. The biggest challenge for the Surface Phone will be convincing buyers that Windows is not a sluggish, ill-maintained mobile operating system.
Microsoft Surface Phone Rumors
Our coverage of the Surface Phone has led us to a few interesting, if not entirely far-fetched, speculations. A recent patent, for instance, has many people expecting a phone with an expandable display. Another set of reports insist the Surface Phone is but a mild deviation from the Lumia smartphones.
Those who are interested in saving up for the gadget can expect it range between $699 and $1,100, according to reports. There are those who expect it to be higher than that. Looking at more recent Surface items like the Studio, Microsoft clearly has no problem putting a premium price tag on its innovations. However, all we can do for not wait and see if any of the Surface Phone rumors hold any truth.
While Microsoft has not said anything about the Surface Phone, the firm’s chief exec has laid rumors about his firm leaving the smartphone space to rest. Even though he has not mentioned a smartphone joining the ranks of Microsoft’s Surface lineup, Nadella claims that his company will keep forging further into smartphones and other device segments. Just that this time around, Microsoft promises to incorporate its own unique take on hardware. And how better for Microsoft to pull off a successful handset comeback that with its series of Surface products?
What are your thoughts on the Microsoft Surface Phone? Is the device just rumor, or could the company actually be working on leading a smartphone revolution? We would like to hear your views, so feel free to leave a comment below. You can also keep the conversation going by sharing this page on social platforms.
