It was an idea pandered around for a while, but now it seems Microsoft could be making the Surface Phone a reality.
An accidental leak from Microsoft has revealed a new smartphone is in the works, sporting a new chipset from Snapdragon developers, Qualcomm. Deep in Microsoft’s requirements page for Windows 10, Forbes spotted a new chipset that is able to run Windows 10.
The chipset has since been taken down but we can tell you the model number was MSM8998, the Snapdragon 820’s model number is MSM8996. The MSM8998 chipset is expected to be revealed as the Snapdragon 830, analyst expect it to sport 8GB of RAM, more memory and ramped graphical prowess. Hopefully this turns out to be true as we’ll start seeing what we’ve been dreaming about, full PCs in your pocket. With 8GB of RAM, the Surface Phone would surpass specs of laptops currently on sale.
It’s no secret Microsoft hasn’t been doing too well as of recent. The Lumia 950/950 XL didn’t set the world alight, even with all that hype Corporate Vice President, Panos Panay generated at the announcement. Microsoft released their quarterly earnings last week to reveal sale of Lumia devices are down 73% compared to last year.
It resulted in a 46% drop for phone revenue. Overall, the Lumia wasn’t the success Microsoft set it out to be. We can blame this on a number of reasons; the Lumia range hasn’t kept up quality wise with rivals and or the Windows Phone app store is still lacklustre.
Microsoft has tried to turn things around with the Lumia 950, innovating with their latest device by including liquid cooling into their handset. But to echo, it didn’t do much for consumers. But what the recent Lumia’s did do is provide a stepping stone for the next series of Microsoft handsets.
Continuum is one of the unique selling points of the recent Lumia devices, which enables users to turn their phones into a computer. Write up a word document, create a presentation and fill in those cells for that all important spreadsheet on-the-go.
If we see Continuum improved with support from more powerful hardware, revamped design language and app library additions, we can see a brighter future for Microsoft’s smartphone division.
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