Microsoft Surface Phone release date, price, leaked photo, topnotch specifications have emerged

The rumour mill has been consistently revealing information on the Microsoft Surface Phone since last year. Fresh rumours indicate that the Redmond giant will be releasing the Surface Phone in three versions by the first quarter of next year. The rumour mill has also revealed the leaked photo of the Microsoft Surface Phone.

The details of Microsoft Surface Phone have emerged on Weibo, the social networking site of China, Mobi Picker reported. The Surface Phone would be arriving in three models that will be packed with different hardware configurations. Previous rumours have also hinted that Surface Phone will be available in three editions that will cater different kinds of audience such as consumer, prosumer and enterprise.

All the three models of the Microsoft Surface Phone are expected to be powered by Snapdragon 830 chipset. In the previous year, the Redmond giant had launched Snapdragon 810 powered Lumia 950 XL.

Even though several smartphone OEMs have launched Snapdragon 820 chipset powered smartphones this year, the Redmond giant has not launched a SD820 powered Lumia flagship smartphone. Rumours are also hinting that the arrival of Surface Phone lineup indicates that Microsoft will be killing all of its Lumia series smartphones.

The starting variant of Surface Phone is expected to feature 3 GB of RAM along with 32 GB of native storage. The second variant will be packed with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. The last variant is speculated to come with high-end specs such as 8 GB of RAM and 500 GB of inbuilt storage. The Surface Phone is expected to be available with a starting price of $900 (AU$1256).

Nokibar, a Baidu user, who had previously revealed leaked renders of the cancelled Lumia 850 smartphone as well as Lumia 650 has revealed a leaked photo of Surface Phone. The smartphone can be seen in a protective cover that features an inbuilt keyboard. The smartphone also seems to sport a USB Type-C port, Neowin reported.

Windows Central has reported that the Surface Phone will be unleashed to the world by early 2017. Microsoft is expected to advertise Continuum as the major feature of Surface Phone smartphones. Continuum allows Windows 10 Mobile smartphones to be used a full-blown PC by connecting a display. At present, the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL are only Microsoft smartphones that support Continuum feature.