Could a Microsoft Surface Phone be in the works?

Microsoft’s Surface Phone is closer than we may think, according to a new report by WindowsCentral.

Citing “sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans,” the publication notes that plans for an Intel powered flagship smartphone in the form of a Microsoft Lumia has fallen through and will be replaced with an “an all-new flagship phone lead by Panos Panay.”

Panay was one of the principal designers of the company’s Surface range of tablets, which has now overtaken Apple in tablet sales for October 2015.

Further speculation suggests that Intel isn’t completely abandoning the party though, with rumours suggesting that the chipmaker could develop a bespoke chipset for the Surface Phone that supports x86 instruction sets. In layman’s terms: a smartphone that can run full Windows apps in your pocket.

Read more: Microsoft Lumia 950 XL launched, runs full Windows 10 and starts at $649

This will further play with Microsoft’s Windows Continuum idea: the notion that a smartphone can be used as an every day computer with the addition of a dock, a screen and peripherals. Allowing the device to run Windows programs makes this idea even more attractive for corporates.

We not sure how a device like this would slot into the Microsoft mobile lineup, but we’d speculate that it would be the true flagship, slotting ahead of the Microsoft Lumia 950 XL (feature image).

Ultimately, we have no idea if the “Surface Phone” is destined to exist, but Microsoft is clearly working on another device if rumours are to be believed. If true, the device will launch in the second half of 2016, or closer to the launch date of the next big Windows 10 update.

Read the full report on WindowsCentral here.