It’s a rumor, but it’s about the only one we’ve had on the elusive Surface Phone in a long, long time. According to a Chinese source, the Surface Phone device will be launched as the Microsoft “Surface Mobile.”
welp, it looks like “Surface Mobile” information leaked in Chinese websites, lets wait for the translations 🙂 pic.twitter.com/sZq9EZH7my
— WalkingCat (@h0x0d) June 6, 2017
Essentially, the leak shows a Windows device running on Snapdragon silicon from Qualcomm. It’s a handheld device, but comes with a feature called “Onto Table” Continuum, which is being assumed to be a feature that lets you project your device’s screen onto another surface, like a table. It also says that battery life is only a little more than an hour on this “desktop mode.”
The description also talks about a kick stand that can recline 185 degrees, but we think that’s not right. 180 degrees is a straight line, which means a device lying flat on the table is already reclining at 180 degrees. More likely, this is 165 degrees, which is basically what the new Surface Pro kickstand can recline to. The Surface Phone aka Surface Mobile also supports the Surface Pen, according to the leak.
While the veracity of this rumor can’t be confirmed at this point, it’s the only clue we have to the Surface Phone’s existence. Moreover, since HP, Lenovo and ASUS have already announced their participation as OEMs for the new Windows 10 on ARM device expected later this year, we should see more leaks coming from the ever-eager-to-leak supply chain in Asia.
Of course, Continuum may not be the centerpiece of this device’s capabilities. What everyone is waiting for is x86 emulation on Snapdragon 835 chipsets, which means the device can not only run the full Windows 10 version, but also x86 apps that have so far been restricted to desktop environments primarily controlled by Intel and its hardware.
Intel’s recent litigious noises about x86 emulation and IP rights infringement could put a spanner in the works at Qualcomm, but we don’t think the latter would run the risk of violating Intel’s IP and losing a potentially massive contract with Microsoft for future Windows 10 devices. Let’s just hope they’ve covered their bases on the x86 emulation front.
Even if this latest rumor about the Surface Phone being called Surface Mobile turned out to be untrue, we’re confident that more reliable leaks will soon be making their way into the light.
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