Rumors about the actual release date for Surface Phone, Microsoft’s answer to iPhone and all other premium smartphones, are conflicting in nature.
While some sources say that the phone won’t be ready in time because of delays getting the right processor in time for an October launch, others insist that Surface Phone will, in fact, be seen at the October 26 event that Microsoft has sent out invites for.
But what we know for a fact is that Surface Phone will be unlike any other smartphone in the market today, including iPhone 7 and Google Pixel. Why?
First of all, Surface Phone is going to be a productivity hub rather than an entertainment hub – although it will certainly have the ability to play games, watch movies, listen to music and so on. The primary goal of Microsoft, however, is to target enterprise users and push Surface Phone as the device for employees.
By infusing its Office 365 capabilities into the phone, Microsoft can put the ‘mobile’ in mobile productivity like no other company, including Google. But that’s not all.
The second reason is that Surface Phone will have two key features for its apps. The first feature is “continue app experiences”, which allows you to sync app state between Surface Phone and your Windows 10 PC. Basically, this allows you to continue working on whatever page of the app you were on. Switching between a desktop and a smartphone has never been this easy. The other feature, called “Flow” or “Pick Up Where I Left Off” will allow users to switch to another desktop midway between a task, move to another PC and continue working from the same point in the app.
The third reason is possibly going to be internal memory. Surface Phone may come with a 512 GB memory variant, which means it can hold twice the data that the 256 GB on the high-end versions of iPhone as well as Google Pixel can.
Of course, Microsoft is far behind both Apple and Google in terms of the sheer number of apps they have on their respective stores, but Microsoft will likely play to its strengths and highlight its own productivity and communications software on the cloud. Office 365, Yammer, Skype for Business…all of these will be given prominent positioning on the home screen is what we think.
Microsoft is well aware of its drawbacks and weaknesses, and the company isn’t going to want to be caught with its pants down in front of Apple or Google. That’s why the need to highlight productivity over all else. That’s their strength, and that’s where they loom large over both rivals, and they’re not going to get an opportunity like this to slip away.
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