Surface Phone said to be due in April 2017 with Redstone 2... and Redstone 3 is coming too

Earlier today, we reported that Terry Myerson had reiterated Microsoft's commitment to Windows 10 Mobile and that the firm is currently developing its next-generation handsets.

According to Windows Central, the first such device will be the Surface Phone, and it will be released in April 2017. The firm will be positioning it as:

1. Most secure phone in the world

2. The best phone for productivity

The productivity angle makes sense, as it's one of Microsoft's strong suits. With features like Continuum, "the best phone for productivity" could certainly be a reality. Of course, there would need to be a suite of productivity apps that is unmatched by any other mobile platform.

Apparently, Win32 apps are a key part of that strategy, although it's not clear how it will be implemented. After all, Myerson did say that the firm is committed to ARM-powered Windows phones.

HP has addressed this issue with its Elite x3 through virtualization. Win32 apps run off of a remote server, allowing the ARM-based phone to access it remotely.

As we reported back in March, Redstone 2 will be made available to coincide with this hardware release. According to the report, this update will focus on Windows 10 Mobile.

In fact, Microsoft has apparently been disappointed with the state of Windows 10 Mobile and even the Lumia 950 and 950 XL that they released.

Perhaps more interesting than anything else is that the report discusses Redstone 3, an update that we had previously never heard of, as prior reports indicated that Redstone would come in only two waves. Of course, we still don't know what it will include or when it will be released, but like Redstone 2, it will focus on "innovation around mobile phones".

This is some of the most exciting Windows 10 Mobile news that we've heard in a long time, given that Microsoft said so little about it at Build 2016. In fact, Myerson even said that they weren't focusing on it this year, but it looks like fans of Windows phones have reason to hold on to a bit of hope.

Source: Windows Central