Microsoft to Build Surface Phone to Compete with iPhone?
Microsoft may be working on a Surface Phone that will help the company compete with Apple's iPhone, based on the hints dropped by an executive.
Following the recent release of the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL, Microsoft's mobile business still has not shown significant improvement. Chris Capossela, the tech giant's marketing chief, teased at a current project that sounds like a Surface Phone, which is touted to be its answer to the iPhone, according to Gotta Be Mobile.
In an interview last week on the Windows Weekly podcast, Capossela dished out a few details on Microsoft's current mobile efforts. Now that the Lumia 950 and Limia 950 XL are out in the market, the firm is rumored to be focusing its energy on a Surface Phone, the report details.
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"We need some sort of spiritual equivalent on the phone side that doesn't just feel like it's a phone for people who love Windows," Capossela told hosts Paul Thurrott and Mary Jo Foley during the interview. "It's got to be a phone … that's going to make me (as a hypothetical Apple fan) pause before I buy my 17th iPhone."
While Capossela did not actually mention a Surface Phone and its targeted release date, he hinted at a device with a description similar to the one in the rumors. He said Microsoft will need time to build something like that phone, Fox News reports.
The Surface Phone rumors stemmed from Wired's report that revealed that the designers of the Surface devices are building new phone designs. However, no detail on the appearance of the mystery device was mentioned, the report adds.
As of now, details on the Surface Phone are still vague, but there are some saying it will take its cue from the Surface Pro 4's high-end magnesium design. It could also feature the SurfaceConnect port and the Surface Pen, and run Windows 10 Mobile operating system, the report details.
While there are still no confirmed information on the Surface Phone, consumers can turn their attention to the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL. The latter can be exclusively purchased from the Microsoft website for $650. The Lumia 950, on the other hand, is available from both the company website for $550 and from AT&T for 19.97 per month under the Next 24 program.
