Previously, it was said that Microsoft will release its first Surface brand phone flagship later this year. However, new speculations suggest that the release of the Surface Phone has been moved to 2017.

According to iTechPost, observers agreed that Microsoft would announce the Surface Phone at the IFA 2016, since most industry flagships use the trade show as a launch event. However, the event just recently concluded without the Surface Phone appearing.

This leads to new speculations that even if the Surface Phone will debut in October, at a Microsoft-sponsored press event, the smartphone will most likely go on sale next year instead.

Reportedly, Microsoft will be showcasing its new Surface products in October, alongside the highlights for a major Windows 10 update, Redstone 2. The new lineups reportedly include the Surface Phone. However, given that the mobile devices use the updated Windows 10 Mobile, it is likely that Microsoft will wait for the major update to roll out completely – Redstone 2 will have a second-part patch in early 2017 – before releasing the new Surface products in the market. This means that the Surface Phone may have a 2017 release.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has yet to come out with official details on the upcoming handset, though rumors on the flagship specs have already made their way online. Reportedly, the new Surface Phone will run on a Snapdragon 830 chipset and will come out in two RAM configurations. The basic model will supposedly have 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage, while the top-tier variant will have 6GB of RAM and 128GB of memory. There may also be a premium edition with a massive 500GB storage. All versions is likely to carry a 5.5-inch AMOLED display.

As a replacement for the Lumia series, it can also be expected that the camera setup for the Surface Phone will use premium specs like an upgraded megapixel count, as well as improved Carl Zeiss optics.