Firstly we are pretty sure that the Surface will be out this year.The launch date is up in the air.  It could be launched at the IFA in Berlin or as some reports suggest in October along with other Surface products such as the Surface Pro 5 and the Surface Book 2. This would set Microsoft up for Christmas sales, however with the phone being targeted at business users with extra networking and security bells and whistles this is less important.

The device should be a unibody design made with an aluminium and magnesium combination. It will have a 5.5-inch phone with an AMOLED display, capable of producing a 1440 x 2560 pixel screen resolution. Redmond's Surface Pen might work on it.

The processor is likely to be an Intel Atom x3 processor paired with 4GB of RAM. Microsoft might also release versions with  4 and 6GB RAM capacities. Some versions will have 64GB others 128GB internal storage but there are rumours that it could also have between 256GB to 500GB.

Obviously the OS is going to be Windows 10, and Microsoft appears to be trying to work out how to incorporate a full-blown Windows 10 experience on a mobile device given that this will be branded as a business phone. The latest OS on the rumoured device will also mean that it will be compatible with all Microsoft products from the Xbox One to a home desktop running Windows 10.

The camera specs have not yet been widely reported but initial reports have indicated that a 21MP PureView rear lens and an 8MP Zeiss Wide-Angle lens may be used on the Surface Phone. Nokia's trademark PureView lens was first seen on the Lumia 1020, which included a 41MP rear camera. The Lumia 1020 camera has been rated as probably the best mobile camera with reviewers comparing it to DSLRs rather than phone cameras.

One thing is that that the price is going to be steep mostly because it has more features and quality gear on board. Certainly more than an iPhone.  Some have speculated that it might be around $1,000 particularly if you have the higher storeage features.