The Surface Phone may have been mentioned multiple times online these past few months. However, no official statement was given by Microsoft about the supposed Lumia replacement. This means that it is still possible for the Surface Phone to not see the light of day after all. So for people about to give up on the waiting game and go for the next best thing, the HP Elite X3 is the best Microsoft Surface Phone alternative.
Surface Phone And HP Elite X3 Specs
The HP Elite X3's specs' details, unlike the Surface Phone's, are already confirmed and completed since the device has already been released last month. According to GSMarena, the HP Elite X3 is water, dust and shock resistant. It's got a big 5.9-inch screen with a relatively good resolution of 494 PPI. The phone runs Windows 10 and is powered by a Snapdragon 820 processor. It comes with 4 GB RAM, 64 GB storage, and competitive camera specs.
Additionally, the said Windows phone has a 16 MP rear camera and an 8 MP front camera. It also has an iris scanner, a fingerprint scanner, and Continuum support. Windows Central says that the HP Elite X3's microSD slot capacity is a massive 2 TB.
The Surface Phone, on the other hand, is expected to be powered by Intel's Kaby Lake processor. The display details are not yet very sure, but it could be an improvement from the last Lumia devices. For the rear camera, the Surface Phone is highly likely to come with a 20MP camera with Carl Zeiss sensor.
Furthermore, the Surface Phone is rumored to could come in three variants with 3, 4 or 6 GB RAM. The internal storage options could start from 128 GB all the way to 512 GB. It could also have a big microSD capacity. For added features, the Microsoft phone is expected to support Continuum and Surface Pen. Its fingerprint scanner could also come in a unique form and be embedded within the device's display.
Surface Phone vs HP Elite X3 Conclusions
If you're trying to buy a new phone that is most similar to the rumored Surface Phone, the Elite X3 is probably your nearest bet. It's exactly like the described Surface Phone, only that it is real. The sufficient RAM, the big storage capacity, the Continuum support and many of its other features make it a good Surface Phone clone. According to a review by Windows Central, the Elite phone also got an outstanding battery life, making it a good option for heavy users.
The rumored specs of the Surface Phone may actually be a tad better than the Elite X3, but its arrival is still nothing but a rumor, and varying reports can't even agree on a single date.
Surface Phone News
If consistent rumors are to be believed, the Surface Phone is just waiting for the release of Windows 10 Redstone 2 update and Intel Kaby Lake processor. Once these two important parts of the phone gets shipped, the Surface Phone will be readied up for launch. The possibility of a 2016 release for the Surface Phone is still pretty low since the Windows update is set to happen on 2017 and the Intel processor is expected to come at the end of 2016.
However, there are actually many reports saying that an October launch could also happen, especially now that the rumor mill is getting stronger and stronger and it almost completes all the details about the phone. Nevertheless, unless Microsoft announces something, no one outside the company can confirm or deny the very existence of the Surface Phone.
