Earlier this week, Panos Panay took to the stage in New York City and revealed three new Surface devices. While the Surface chief announced the Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptop 2 and Surface Studio 2, there was no sign of the Surface Phone. Panay recently spoke to The Verge about the elusive smartphone.
Here's the thing with the Surface Phone, a device I have been dismissive about. It has been rumored for so long that it is almost mythical. Earlier this year, there was a flurry of leaks pointing to Microsoft working on a folding smartphone powered by its Andromeda OS.
However, those leaks died when the company seemingly decided to make Andromeda something more unoriginal. The OS will instead be used in a laptop or PC device. This week's event apparently showed that the Surface Phone is but a rumor.
But wait, because Panay thinks otherwise. In the interview, the Microsoft executive said about the Surface Phone, “it's absolutely my baby”. What's interesting about this is Microsoft has never outright confirmed it is working on the Surface Phone.
So, this is hugely important because not only is this a confirmation, but it comes from the head of the Surface division. Of course, it should be said that Panay does not discuss what level of development the device is at.
“We will invent and we will create when products are right. We can't bring new categories into the world and not be a place where customers need it,” he stated. “I think there's a lot of new form factors that are coming in the future.”
New Windows Mobile Experience
In the meantime, users are left without a native mobile experience from Microsoft. Sure, the company still supports Windows 10 Mobile, but does not release new features. Furthermore, no new Windows Phone devices are hitting the market.
If the Surface Phone ever launches, it is reasonable to assume Microsoft will roll out a new mobile operating system at the same time.
Last Updated on April 9, 2020 12:09 pm CEST
