Microsoft Surface Phone may launch in 2017 with three different versions

While rumors of a Surface Phone are popping up with some frequency these days, a new report is throwing cold water on any 2016 release.

It seems that the Surface Phone won't launch until 2017, according to sources speaking to Windows Central.

With the now defunct Lumia brand, this isn't the first rumor we've heard of the Surface Phone, but previous reports had pegged the launch of the new line for this year.

However, it seems that the new Surface Phone will not be launching until 2017, according to sources speaking to Windows Central.

While this can't be confirmed, it does fall in line with another report from last month, which claimed that Microsoft may be holding off on introducing new Surface devices until the next major Windows 10 update rolls around, which isn't expected until next year as well.

Today's report also points to Microsoft launching three different versions of the Surface Phone: a consumer model, a business model and a premium "prosumer/enthusiast" edition.

Not much else is currently known about the new Surface Phone, unfortunately, except that it is being developed by the same team behind the Surface tablets and that it could be powered by Intel's next-gen Core processors codenamed Kaby Lake.