Microsoft Surface Phone release date, specs rumors: Can Surface Phone pose a real challenge to Apple and Samsung next year?

Microsoft has been a good competitor in several fields of technology but it is still yet to wow its rivals and supporters in terms of the smartphone business. And Microsoft might just be planning to accomplish that next year with the Surface Phone according to some reports.

There have been several reports that suggest the Surface Phone will come around April 2017 and that the unannounced phone will be a force to reckon with given its top-of-the-line specifications.

It might also be possible that Microsoft will offer up to three variants of the Surface Phone that vary in random-access memory (RAM) and built-in memory storage. According to reports, the basic variant will have 3 GB RAM with 32 GB internal storage, the mid-range variant will have a 6 GB RAM and 128 GB while the high-end option of Surface Phone is speculated to be packed with a large 8 GB RAM paired with 500 GB internal storage.

HNGN echoes the report that the Surface Phone will be released in 2017 and comes with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 830 processing chip and a 5.7-inch screen with 2K resolution.

However, the report also mentioned that there are other speculations that point to Intel's Atom X3 processor as the chipset to power the Surface Phone while News Everyday reports that it may be equipped with Windows operating system and Kaby Lake processors to support 4K display function for a smooth performance during high-end gaming activities.

As for its other features, it will reportedly sport a seemingly new trend of a display-embedded fingerprint scanner instead of the usual hardware being placed on the rear.

Meanwhile, iTechPost reports that it will also probably arrive in April 2017 and speculates that the Surface Phone will sport an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display with 1,440 x 2,560 resolution and a Carl Zeiss 20-megapixel (MP) camera on the rear.

It will be a hectic year ahead in the battle of smartphones if Microsoft Surface Phone will be unveiled in 2017 since two major flagships, Apple's iPhone 8 and Samsung's Galaxy S8, are also expected to arrive next year.