Even though Microsoft has reported a fall in Surface PC line and Windows phones revenues, the Redmond-based tech giant is aiming for new devices called "Surface Phones" and has made its patent public.
According to a report in Forbes on Monday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has confirmed that Microsoft will "make more phones, but they will not look like phones that are there today."
Earlier this year, Nadella declared that 2017 would see Microsoft launch the ultimate mobile device saying, "We will continue to be in the phone market not as defined by today's market leaders, but by what it is that we can uniquely do in what is the most ultimate mobile device."
On July 21, Microsoft reported that the Windows Surface revenue decreased two per cent -- mainly due to product lifecycle transitions. Phone revenues were effectively zero as with the previous quarter.
Even after these results, the company has now published patent on smartphones.
Titled 'Wireless Communications Device', the patent talks about a bendable smartphone with antenna, battery, SIM card holders and screen connectors split over a hinge to create a dual-winged device. Although the device is just titled “Wireless Communications Device,” the patent describes a bendable smartphone with an antenna, battery, SIM card holders, and screen connectors split on a hinge that creates a dual-screened device. Many are assuming that this is the new Surface Phone, especially since the patent describes some earlier rumors of the phone.
On the consumer side of things, Microsoft will continue to build up its cloud based activities that drove exponential growth and helped it report much better profits than expected for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, which ended on June 30.
Microsoft’s Surface Phone has pretty much been a myth based on some strong rumors for the past year. There was especially a lot of excitement when a couple of months back, Tech Times reported that the mysterious phone would indeed be announced at a Microsoft event on May 23.
Unfortunately (or fortunately for fans of Microsoft’s laptop/tablet hybrid), the new Surface Pro, rather than the Surface Phone, was announced. However, some new information verifying the existence of a Surface Phone revealed today has excited smartphone lovers.
According to most rumors, the Surface Phone is likely to run Microsoft’s mobile ARM processor, which Microsoft just demonstrated running desktop apps on. This will make using apps such as Photoshop painfully slow, but it’s doubtful that anyone will be purchasing a Surface Phone to use specifically as a photo editing device.
There has been no date set yet for the Surface Phone, but many believe it will be available during the fourth quarter of 2017. Microsoft will certainly have a lot of competition. Around the same time, the much-hyped iPhone 8 will hit the market.
As MacRumors notes, at least one version of the device will have a 5.8-inch edge-to-edge OLED screen with an increased pixel resolution, an advanced A11 processor, and a glass body. There allegedly won’t even be a need for a physical home button, and there are strong rumors that Apple has perfected facial recognition so much that there will be no need for Touch ID. And finally, Apple is set to add wireless charging capabilities to the iPhone—something Samsung has done with its phones since 2014.
Speaking the Galaxy Note 8, Tom’s Guide reports that Samsung’s large device will likely be worth the wait. The large smartphone is said to have a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED screen that could have a 4K resolution, which would be great for using it in the Gear VR. However, a 4K screen could also eat up a lot of battery life.
The Note 8 will likely also have a whopping 6GB of RAM, a dual 13MP camera with 3X optical zoom, and an advanced Snapdragon processor. It will look very much like the Samsung Galaxy S8+, which isn’t a bad thing according to most.
Based on all the rumors, which smartphone are consumers looking forward to the most? Is it the Microsoft Surface Phone, the iPhone 8, or the Galaxy Note 8?
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