The Microsoft Surface Phone will not make it to its spring 2017 launch schedule, according to the latest reports about the smartphone.
Microsoft analyst Mary Jo Foley has received a tip from her sources that the smartphone might be released "considerably later" as compared to the rest of the Redmond-based company's upcoming offerings.
In her latest report, Foley, citing her "contacts," said that the Microsoft Surface Phone might be released either around late 2017 or worse, as late as 2018.
The expert said that the Microsoft Surface Book 2 and the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 are still on track to be released early next year, but the Microsoft Surface Phone might not show up with them as previously expected.
Foley reported a few months back that the Microsoft Surface Phone will likely be released spring next year to wait for the Redstone 2 update for the Windows 10. The update will allow Microsoft to incorporate more features on the smartphone, and it buys Microsoft more time to make the device as great as possible.
Foley's new report suggests that the flagship will arrive much later. Media outlets are claiming that a fall launch will be likely, which means that users will have to wait another year to see the Microsoft Surface Phone.
However, PC Mag says that handset might not be released at all, seeing that long delay. The device has been talked about since last year, and the fact that it will arrive in a couple of years spells trouble.
The site believes that the Windows-enabled smartphone HP Elite X3, which the publication predicts will not get a successor despite the promising qualities it had, will be the last Windows phone and that the Microsoft Surface Phone will no longer see the light of day.
Whether or not this will be the case remains to be seen. PC Mag says that the Windows platform lacks the third-party apps offered by the competition, which is one of the sources of issues with the device.
The Microsoft Surface Phone was believed to be the product that will put Microsoft back into the mobile scene, but it looks like this might not be the case after all.
