Rumor has it that Microsoft is planning a mobile reboot that would include a dramatic makeover of Windows 10 Mobile, as well as a brand new device bringing the company closer to its rivals, but mostly in the enterprise market.

And while the software push would be based on the Composable Shell, or CShell, which represents a common shell for all Windows devices, it looks like the hardware strategy is already in a fairly advanced stage.

Microsoft watcher Brad Sams says the software giant is already working on a “mobile-type” device and, what’s more, this is already “floating around campus.”

Flagship with premium price

There are several unknown details right now, and a mobile-type device could mean that it might be either a tablet or a smartphone. The chances are, however, that Microsoft is working on a smartphone, as conventional tablets don’t seem to align with Microsoft’s hardware push right now.

Interestingly, however, the new mobile device is not being developed as part of the Surface division, Sams says, with Alex Kipman currently in charge of it. Kipman is the man who heads the HoloLens project, so this could be an indication that Microsoft is betting bit on AI for its future phone.

The new device will be premium and expensive, but not as expensive as the HoloLens. Microsoft seems tempted to adopt a strategy similar to what it did with the Surface Book and position the new mobile device as a premium product, trying to convince OEMs to join its effort and create similar products.

There’s a good chance the new device runs Windows 10 on ARM and be based on CShell, though Sams claims that at this point, the new shell is extremely buggy and Microsoft still has a lot of work to do.

So even if the device can already be seen on Microsoft’s campus, there are many things to improve before pushing the go-ahead button, and this means that a 2018 launch is more likely if the project ever gets to see the light of day.