Microsoft Surface Phone release date expected in 2016 or 2017; rumored specs include Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor

Microsoft Surface Pro 4Microsoft

Rumors of the Surface Phone have been circulating around the tech world for a long time now. This device appears to be the next flagship phone from Microsoft, and a conclusive date for its release is yet to be announced officially.

However, a recent set of photos posted on Twitter by Indian app developer, Shuban Chemburkar, seems to have renewed the rumors of a fast-approaching release. The photos were taken inside Microsoft's Building 88, in Redmond, and one of them reveals what appear to be placeholders for the upcoming surface devices. Another one features a wall dedicated to photos of the current devices under the Surface brand, including the Surface Book and the Surface Pro 4 tablet.

Additionally, as Vine Report discloses, the wall also has four slots that show the silhouettes of the upcoming devices in the Surface collection. Three of these are marked by a 2017 label, while the fourth one sports a 2016 label.

Although no official confirmation has been received from Microsoft regarding the release dates, these labels heavily suggest that three of the expected devices will be launched next year, while the fourth may make it to the shelves this year itself. Speculations regarding what the four possible devices could be point to these four gadgets – the Surface Pro 5, the Surface Book 2, the Surface all-in-one computer (AIO), and the Surface Phone.

The Bitbag mentions that the Surface Phone is supposedly equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor that includes 4GB of RAM. This model is believed to run on the Windows 10 operating system. Allegedly, another edition of the Surface Phone is also possible. This one will be equipped with an advanced chipset, and will run on an Intel Atom X3 processor with 6GB of RAM.

The grapevine also reports that this upcoming phone from Microsoft will be marketed as a high-end device, having a target market of business owners and entrepreneurs.