Finally, The Surface Phone Seems To Be Microsoft’s Priority This 2018
The Surface Phone has been in the rumor mill for so long that some smartphone fans have given up on the idea of ever holding the device in their hands. Just as interest in the smartphone is fading, however, Microsoft finally decided to throw its avid online followers a bone. If new reports prove accurate, the mobile world might end up seeing the release of the Surface Phone this coming 2018.
Interest in the Surface Phone was rekindled just a few days ago, when the Redmond-based tech giant’s recruiter, ABAL Technologies Inc., posted a now-deleted job opening for a Hardware Test Engineer/Manufacturing Engineer position, according to Windows Report. What was particularly interesting about the job posting was the specific skill set required for the job listing’s applicants.
Interestingly, the job listing was particular about its requirements, explicitly mentioning that candidates must have a thorough knowledge of WIFI 802.11 standards and Intel Chipsets. A background on Q-DAT or QDAP was also specified.
Perhaps most interesting, however, was the fact that the now-deleted job posting included references to Qualcomm’s upcoming flagship SoC, the Snapdragon 845, which is expected to power some next year’s most powerful smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S9 and the Google Pixel 3.
Apart from this, Microsoft’s job listing also stated that applicants must be willing to travel to China on a regular basis, at least for the next six months, as noted in a Hot Hardware report. This, of course, is quite linked to Microsoft’s hardware, since the Asian economic superpower hosts one of Microsoft’s most prominent ODMs, Pegatron, which manufactures Surface devices and Xbox units.
How Surface Phone/Mobile would differ from Microsoft Courier concept #Surfacephone https://t.co/sSSaIYc95p pic.twitter.com/5OJwhMk3AT
— WinCentral (@TheWinCentral) November 12, 2017
Overall, Microsoft’s brief job posting definitely appears to suggest that the Redmond-based tech giant is taking dedicated mobile devices seriously once more. Over the past years, Microsoft has been out of luck with its smartphone initiatives, with its acquisition of Nokia and subsequent flagship Lumia line crashing and burning. Since the failure of the Lumia 950 and the Lumia 950 XL, the tech giant has been very conservative about its mobile initiatives.
Things have changed a lot since then, however, with Microsoft building a reputation as a premium hardware manufacturer due to its critically and commercially successful Surface line of devices. Thus, Surface fans have always speculated that eventually, Microsoft would release a Surface-branded smartphone to complete the tech giant’s mobile line.
If the recent job opening is any indication, it seems like Microsoft might be preparing to grant its fans’ wishes pretty soon.
