I don't think we'll see a Surface Phone as soon as people are predicting.
Many are rumoring that Microsoft is working on a Surface Phone code named "Juggernaut Alpha". Now, there are two pieces to this, but in tandem I feel like they are wrong. Individually there may be some merit.
Here is the problem, the code name Juggernaut Alpha is now quite an old one. Rumors go back probably a year or more, which makes it unlikely it is x86 based. And the rumors seem to echo this as well. So, why can't the Surface Phone be an ARM based chipset? Well technically, there is no hard and fast reason. But, with the release of the 950 and 950XL it makes no sense.
I had said in the past that making a Surface Phone rather than a Lumia phone would have to mark some drastic departure from the Lumia DNA. It would have to look different and offer some differentiator.
I was thinking at the very least a departure from the vibrant color shells. But, the 950 and 950XL already do that. They only come in very boring colors and are instead customizable only with 3rd party covers.
I was thinking that they might do it with new flagship hardware. But again, 950 and 950XL are more than competent. Just incrementing on the hardware again wouldn't merit the branding change.
Exciting, new, over hyped feature? Continuum. You guessed it, already in the 950 and 950XL.
Basically, the 950 and 950XL are a departure from the design elements that made the Lumia brand by abandoning the funky colored devices. They seriously beefed up the hardware leaving little to improve upon. And the devices pack a new OS and a huge new feature for phones. These devices mark the best possible point in time to have slammed the Surface moniker on an ARM device. It is really hard to imagine a new ARM based phone in the next year or two that could merit the branding change now.
I'm glad they didn't re-brand as Surface. And, I don't think they are dumb enough to slap that name on an ARM device unless Windows 10 Mobile really takes off now. And that would take at least another year to prove that out.
Does it mean that they aren't working on a Surface Phone? No. I just don't think that Juggernaut Alpha is it. I think Juggernaut Alpha is more likely to be a 1520 or 1320 replacement device. Some might argue that the 950XL serves that purpose. But in terms of product numbers it doesn't and it is curious that they didn't name it that way. So, I'm expecting a 1550 or 1350 to come out or maybe even a 1050 that is the result of Juggernaut Alpha.
It is also entirely possible that they are working on an x86 based Surface Phone, or that if Windows 10 Mobile takes off that they could later release an ARM phone under the Surface name. But, in both cases I'm having a hard time believing that we will see a Surface branded phone in the next 6 months.
Here is the problem, the code name Juggernaut Alpha is now quite an old one. Rumors go back probably a year or more, which makes it unlikely it is x86 based. And the rumors seem to echo this as well. So, why can't the Surface Phone be an ARM based chipset? Well technically, there is no hard and fast reason. But, with the release of the 950 and 950XL it makes no sense.
I had said in the past that making a Surface Phone rather than a Lumia phone would have to mark some drastic departure from the Lumia DNA. It would have to look different and offer some differentiator.
I was thinking at the very least a departure from the vibrant color shells. But, the 950 and 950XL already do that. They only come in very boring colors and are instead customizable only with 3rd party covers.
I was thinking that they might do it with new flagship hardware. But again, 950 and 950XL are more than competent. Just incrementing on the hardware again wouldn't merit the branding change.
Exciting, new, over hyped feature? Continuum. You guessed it, already in the 950 and 950XL.
Basically, the 950 and 950XL are a departure from the design elements that made the Lumia brand by abandoning the funky colored devices. They seriously beefed up the hardware leaving little to improve upon. And the devices pack a new OS and a huge new feature for phones. These devices mark the best possible point in time to have slammed the Surface moniker on an ARM device. It is really hard to imagine a new ARM based phone in the next year or two that could merit the branding change now.
I'm glad they didn't re-brand as Surface. And, I don't think they are dumb enough to slap that name on an ARM device unless Windows 10 Mobile really takes off now. And that would take at least another year to prove that out.
Does it mean that they aren't working on a Surface Phone? No. I just don't think that Juggernaut Alpha is it. I think Juggernaut Alpha is more likely to be a 1520 or 1320 replacement device. Some might argue that the 950XL serves that purpose. But in terms of product numbers it doesn't and it is curious that they didn't name it that way. So, I'm expecting a 1550 or 1350 to come out or maybe even a 1050 that is the result of Juggernaut Alpha.
It is also entirely possible that they are working on an x86 based Surface Phone, or that if Windows 10 Mobile takes off that they could later release an ARM phone under the Surface name. But, in both cases I'm having a hard time believing that we will see a Surface branded phone in the next 6 months.
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