Rumors indicate Microsoft will not unbox the Surface Phone this 2017, at least not just yet. Instead, another Windows 10-powered handset is reportedly in the works that likely will be part of the Lumia line. The Surface Phone will have to wait until 2019.

In a report, Tech Times said Microsoft is unlikely to deploy the rumored Surface Phone anytime soon. The device has been expected to come out later this 2017 to chiefly function as the showcase handset for the Windows 10 Redstone 3 Update. The OS bump is supposedly happening around October or November this year, then the Surface Phone unpacking will immediately follow.

Like Us on Facebook

However, the device seems not yet ready for a 2017 debut as hinted in earlier reports. Microsoft is said to be building up on its Windows 10 ecosystem first before it pushes through with the Surface Phone release date plans. The better timing to introduce the phone is around 2018 or even 2019, as Tech Times suggested on its report.

But there has to be a device that will highlight the mobile-optimized features packed with the Redstone 3 Update and if not the Surface Phone Microsoft has to come up with something else. The same report indicated that the chosen device will be a refresh of the Lumia line, the handset brand that Microsoft acquired from Nokia.

In resurrecting the Lumia, the report did not mention the specific things that the handset will deliver. There are no details available on specs and feature upgrades, Tech Times admitted, adding that even the intro and release schedule for the Lumia 2017 remain unknown.

In contrast, rumors are aplenty when it comes to the Surface Phone. Inquisitr said in a related report there were hints the device could end up with a foldable model, which was suggested by a recently unearthed Microsoft patent filing. But this becoming a reality remains a remote possibility.

What's more likely is the Surface Phone will support ARM-based chips to power the Windows 10 Continuum feature that permits x86 apps emulation. This points to Snapdragon 835 SoC firing up the device, which Microsoft and Qualcomm actually confirmed will be an upcoming scenario.

And there will be Surface Phone variants too that will run on Intel, specifically the 14-nanometer Kaby Lake processors. All models will be getting RAM support that starts from 4GB and can go as high as 6GB.

Still, the confirmation for all these things will not drop anytime soon if indeed the Surface Phone release date has been pushed back, yet again, in late 2019.