Why it matters to you
The latest news from Microsoft spells the end of the Windows Phone OS.
It once seemed inevitable that Microsoft would create a Surface Phone, a handset designed by the same engineering team responsible for the Surface Book and Surface Pro. The company has denied those rumors, but the rumors and leaks have continued, suggesting it’s something the company may still be considering — even if it may not be a product it’s actively developing.
Here’s everything we know so far about the mythical Microsoft Surface Phone.
Microsoft kills Windows Phone, putting the Surface Phone’s future in doubt
After months of speculation, it’s finally official: Microsoft is killing off Windows Phone, the mobile phone operating system that was widely expected to ship on the Surface Phone.
In a tweet on October 8, Joe Belfiore, Microsoft’s head of Windows, wrote that the company would no longer “support the platform [with] new features.”
Of course we’ll continue to support the platform … bug fixes, security updates, etc. But building new features/hw aren’t the focus. https://t.co/0CH9TZdIFu
— Joe Belfiore (@joebelfiore) October 8, 2017
He blamed lack of third-party support on Windows Phone’s demise.
We have tried VERY HARD to incent app devs. Paid money … wrote apps 4 them … but volume of users is too low for most companies to invest. https://t.co/ePsySxR3LB
— Joe Belfiore (@joebelfiore) October 8, 2017
Microsoft isn’t abandoning the Windows Phone platform altogether — a spokesperson told The Telegraph that it would continue to support its current line of Lumia phones and other Windows Phone handsets. But the wind-down in development puts the rumored Surface Phone’s future in doubt.
Microsoft may wait until late 2017 to release Surface Phone
After the Surface Phone failed to make an appearance at Microsoft’s 2016 BUILD conference, two reports from Windows Central quoting sources close to the matter said that Microsoft would wait until “at least” 2017 to release a phone. It also suggested that Microsoft was working on as many as three separate Surface Phone models: A consumer model, a business model, and a high-spec “enthusiast” model.
The Surface Phone’s delay follows statements by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in November 2016 that clarify Microsoft’s position on smartphones. Specifically, Nadella indicated that Microsoft does not want to simply compete with the industry leaders with a “me-too” device, but focus its efforts and develop the “ultimate” mobile device.
If one reads between the lines, it would seem that the Surface Phone was intended to be a high-end smartphone aimed at providing very specific value to the business market, serving as a halo device for Microsoft’s long-term mobile strategy.
Microsoft purchased surfacephone.com
If you’re looking for a hint that Microsoft will introduce a Surface Phone sometime in the future, then look no further than one Reddit user’s discovery in late January 2016. It appears that Microsoft owns surfacephone.com, and the company even went as far as redirecting it to the main Surface website.
Before you go jumping for joy, this is far from a confirmation that Microsoft is readying a Surface Phone. Often, companies like to stay out of legal trouble by registering domain names that correlate with a current product.
It’s important to point out, too, that surfacephone.com was actually registered in May 2007, so it’s not like Microsoft recently purchased it to get ready for a new Surface Phone launch.
Furthermore, Microsoft’s Surface page is within microsoft.com as in https://www.microsoft.com/surface/. Microsoft isn’t even using surface.com for its current crop of Surface devices, and so why would the company use surfacephone.com for a Surface Phone if it gets released? Case in point: Microsoft registered surface.com back in 1994.
Rumored change in mobile strategy as Panos Panay takes charge
A report from Windows Central suggests that the Surface phone rumored earlier in the year has been canceled in favor of a new Surface phone being built by the Surface team, led by Microsoft hardware lead Panos Panay.
The phone was previously referred to as the ‘Panos Phone’ according to Windows Central’s sources. Panos Panay is in charge of the team that designed the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book, meaning we might see a smartphone with a similar design.
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
Rumors have spread about a Surface phone for years. In a WIRED profile on Microsoft’s Head of Devices Panos Panay last year, it’s mentioned that work was going ahead on “a prototype of a new phone” at Microsoft’s HQ.
Only concepts give us a clue about design
Unfortunately, we have no idea what any Surface Mobile phone will look like, but concept renders were created by Nadir Aslam earlier this year. While the final Surface Mobile phone might not look like these renders, they give a good idea of its possible productivity attributes.
The Surface Phone remains far from official, but we’ll keep you updated here with news and rumors about the device.
Update: Added news that Microsoft has killed the Surface Phone