Microsoft's Forgotten Surface Phone Prototype Revealed

Microsoft had plans to release a Surface-branded Windows Phone in 2013-2014, but they were scrapped after the Nokia acquisition. The unreleased phone featured a 720p display, physical navigation buttons, and a silver Surface-like chassis.

The prototype was powered by an unknown Qualcomm chip and ran on Windows Phone 8.1. It had a camera button, power button, up and down volume buttons, and a Windows logo that matches the aesthetic of the 2013 Surface 2.

Microsoft's eventual Surface Duo took a dual-screen approach, which came with its own set of compromises. The unreleased phone might have had a better shot at succeeding commercially because it would not have had to deal with these compromises.