Is early 2018 too soon for a Surface phone?

Microsoft has asserted that the Surface phone will arrive only when it's ready.

Like the Surface, Surface Book, and Surface Studio the Surface "phone" will have the distinct purpose of defining a category. It will not exist simply to exist, nor be positioned just to satisfy the desires of a fan base eager for a super device. Microsoft CMO Chris Capossela explained:

… it's important … for our fans to understand … our mental model has to be not just building another device that competes with a premium device in some category … it's got to have a different point of view, and hopefully, that's creating a new category.

Despite the success of current Surface devices, unique high-end hardware alone is insufficient to make a Surface phone a winner. Unlike the Surface Pro, Book and Studio, a Surface "phone" running full Windows on ARM would be positioned as an ultramobile PC but will also have the challenge of needing to "be a smartphone."

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