Surface Phone rumors: Microsoft unlikely to drop the alleged smartphone at its May 2 event

Shown in the photo is the Microsoft Lumia 950. Rumors claim that Microsoft's next smartphone will be called the Surface Phone.Microsoft

After all the rumors and speculations, it is unlikely for the Surface Phone to make its debut soon as it is said that the alleged Microsoft smartphone cannot be expected to be revealed at the Redmond-based company's event next month.

Microsoft has recently announced that it is holding an event this May 2. While the event is meant to unveil the company's latest hardware, it is alleged that it will not be the highly-anticipated Surface Phone. Rather, Microsoft is likely to unveil its Windows 10 Cloud.

It is interesting to note that, despite Microsoft having not confirmed that the Surface Phone is in its pipeline, rumors and speculations on the alleged device have continued to sprout online for more than a year already. However, among the many rumors about the Surface Phone, one that really got tech aficionados talking is the one claiming that it will be a foldable device.

Rumors about the Surface Phone possibly being a smartphone that can be converted into a tablet surfaced some months ago, when the alleged photos of the patent awarded to Microsoft were leaked online. Based on the photos of the said Surface Phone patent, the device can, indeed, be expanded into a bigger-screened device when it is unfolded.

Recent rumors also bolster the claim that the Surface Phone will be a dual-screen display device. However, it is said that, while the major screen will be a regular screen display, the other one that will function as its keyboard and music and game controls is, allegedly, made of electronic paper. Nonetheless, some suspect that the said leaked patent may not be that of the Surface Phone but, rather, for Microsoft's laptop-tablet hybrid device, the upcoming Surface Pro 5. 

As of this writing, there is still no certainty whether Microsoft really has the Surface Phone in the pipeline. What is certain, though, is the company is not done with the smartphone market yet as confirmed by Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella in an interview with the Australian Financial Review last November.

"We will continue to be in the phone market not as defined by today's market leaders, but by what it is that we can uniquely do in what is the most ultimate mobile device," Nadella said.

Whether Nadella was talking about the Surface Phone or not, Microsoft outsiders can only speculate for now.