Mar 13, 2017 07:35 AM EDT By Tyrone Smith, UniversityHerald Reporter

Microsoft is reportedly gearing up to roll out a new smartphone this year. Nonetheless, a Reddit user, who claims to be a former worker of a Microsoft contractor, said that the tech giant's soon to be released 2017-phone is not the Microsoft Surface Phone.

A Reddit user and a former employee of a Microsoft contractor, Zombieacc, wrote that the Redmond, Washington based tech giant will unleash a new smartphone in 2017, but the handset is not the much awaited Microsoft Surface Phone. The Reddit user made it known that he has no idea what the new Microsoft 2017 Phone will be like. Nonetheless, the Reddit user recently heard that the tech company is planning the release the device this year.

The tech giant apparently may need more time to finish developing the highly anticipated device, which was originally supposed to roll out in 2016. Nevertheless, with no sign of the Microsoft Surface Phone in 2016, speculations made rounds on the web that the handset may debut in spring 2017. Now that the supposed Microsoft Surface Phone release date in Spring 2017 inches closer, tech fans and experts are speculating that the debut of the device may get more delayed to end of 2018. If the Microsoft Surface Phone rolls out in late 2018, the smartphone is anticipated to rival Apple's iPhone 9, which is rumored to launch in early 2019.

In spite of that, the Microsoft Surface Phone is rumored to add a foldable feature. If the Microsoft Surface Phone turns out to be a foldable device, Microsoft's upcoming smartphone could be a jab at Samsung's own foldable handset, dubbed as the Samsung Galaxy X. Nonetheless, there's a possibility that the Microsoft Surface Phone will be a foldable smartphone, as the tech company's request for a handset with a flexible hinge was approved by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in January, according to Marshall Town. If so, the foldable feature could be one reason for the Microsoft Surface Phone delay.

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