Surface chief Panay says there is no Surface Phone in Microsoft's immediate future

During the last eight or nine months, when speculation grew hot and heavy about a new foldable Surface Phone, the closest we got to an official comment from Microsoft was an internal email or document that was leaked. But that changed today when comments made by Surface chief Panos Panay during a podcast interview, made their way around digital water coolers.

We know this is going to be bad news for those who were hoping to see the mythical Surface Phone hit the market, but in the podcast, when discussing Microsoft's future direction, the executive stated, "Well, I would not say that that includes a Surface Phone." Not only did he add that any new form factor being designed in Redmond won't include a Surface Phone, but Panay noted that Microsoft's product road map doesn't need such a device.

Panay added that future Surface devices will focus on communication, but not as we currently know the word. He said that how people communicate will evolve. This dovetails with previous reports claiming that the foldable device will have telephonic capabilities, but would not be considered a phone.

If you were hoping for the device codenamed Andromeda to somehow get released next year, Panos Panay just threw a glass of cold water on that thought.

source: Wired