Microsoft Surface phone to come in three variants: Report

Software giant Microsoft is not giving up on smartphone business. Therse have been speculations that the company working on new range of smartphones expected to launch in 2017. Likely to be part of a new range called Surface, the smartphones are expected to launch in three variants.

According to a report in Windows Central, Surface phone will come in three variants for different pricing tiers and markets. The Surface phones will be targeted at: Consumer, business and prosumer/enthusiast. Microsoft is also expected to bring its Microsoft Pen technology to the line.

The company is looking ahead to add pen support across Windows 10 and not just restrict to specific apps. It claims to have made it easy for developers to do so. Microsoft’s pen support called Windows Ink will power intelligent sticky notes, Map apps and others. There is a new sketchbook to doodle with digital rulers. It will work with Adobe Illustrator CC to improve the tools and bring new features.

There are no other details available about the smartphone. However, variations are expected in processors, internal storage, and other features as part of the differentiation.

Microsoft is expected to launch Surface range of smartpones at IFA tradeshow in Berlin in 2017.

The company recently launched Lumia 650 dual-SIM smartphone in India. The smartphone is widely believed to be the company's last Lumia phone.

Lumia 650 comes with enterprise features and runs on the company's latest Windows 10 operating system. There are speculations that this may be the company's last Lumia smartphone as Microsoft is said to be working on a mystery 'Surface' phone.

The Microsoft Lumia 650 features a 5-inch HD AMOLED ClearBlack display with 1280x720 pixels resolution. Powering the device is a 1.3 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 212 processor paired with 1GB RAM. The onboard storage of the device stands at 16GB, which can be expanded up to 200GB using a microSD card.