I posted an article a couple of months ago about the idea of a Surface Phone. In it I explained how Microsoft confirmed they were going to continue creating Lumias, and how they were most likely not going to develop a Surface Phone. I voiced my opinion on why it would be a bad idea. However, I now believe I was wrong.

In that article I explained how creating a Surface Phone would muddy up Microsoft’s branding, how Lumias were Microsoft’s phones and Surfaces were Microsoft’s tablets (and other things, now that the Surface Book is out). I cited the short lifespan of the Lumia 2520.

I also cited how Microsoft would begin to look a little too much like Apple by doing this, as a Surface Phone would most likely very closely resemble an iPhone. However, Microsoft, with the release of the Surface Book, seems to shamelessly compete directly against Apple. Even Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s former CEO, recently said, “Nobody else [except Microsoft and Samsung] is trying to compete with Apple anymore. Who is really going after the Mac? Who is really going after the iPad? You can basically say Microsoft and Samsung.” Samsung, as we all know, is notorious for trying to resemble Apple.

I think that the reveal of the Lumia 950 and 950 XL confirm even further the possible existence of a Surface Phone. The 950s are made of polycarbonate, a design that only a die-hard Lumia fan could appreciate. The “ultimate” sector of smartphones is dominated by metal hardware, and while the Lumias have very respectable internals, the outside doesn’t say to anyone in the mainstream, “Wow, that’s a sexy phone.” The Lumia 950s are not meant to be a big mainstream hit. They’re just meant to soften up the market, to get people warmed up to the idea that Microsoft can make some really good hardware.

So what Microsoft hardware will set the smartphone community on fire? The next-generation flagship Lumias? I don’t really think so. I now think that it will in fact be a Surface Phone.

The Surface line is what has made Microsoft “cool” again in the eyes of the world. The Surface Book will be a mainstream device. What better way to extend that mainstream branding then with a Surface Phone?

Now, the Surface Phone must significantly differentiate itself from Lumias. Die-hard Microsoft fans (like myself) would be angry if the Surface Phone ended up just being the metal Lumia flagship we’ve always wanted. So what will that difference be?

First up, the signature feature of the Surface line: the pen. We’ve always wanted a stylus on our Windows Phones, and a lot of us expected one to appear with the Lumia 950 and 950 XL. Compatibility with the Surface Pen would definitely set a Surface Phone apart from all other Windows Phones.

While a pen would be a big step forward, I think that an expansion of Continuum for Phones would greatly distinguish the Surface Phone. Rumors have been floating around for months about Microsoft working with Intel to make an Intel-powered phone. A phone with an Intel processor could potentially allow it to run full Win32 applications. This is where I think the Surface Phone would really earn the Surface branding. Surface devices are all meant to bridge the gap between different form factors. The Surface/Pros are meant to be tablets that also function well as laptops and the Surface Book is a laptop that can also function well as a tablet. The Surface Phone, with the ability to run x86 apps, would be a phone that can somewhat replace your tablet, laptop, and (depending on the power you need) your desktop). A phone with this capability would certainly be a business-focused phone. Using Continuum for Phones, the Surface Phone could become even more of a full-fledged Windows PC than the new Lumias.

You’re probably wondering exactly how this would work. How would you get Win32 apps onto your phone into the first place? Traditionally, you would download them from the developer’s site and install if from there. But that could be a huge security compromise to the phone, and I’m sure that Microsoft doesn’t want you running anti-virus on your phone. So this is where I thinkProject Centennial fits in. This bridge was announced at Build 2015 to allow developers to add their x86 applications to the Windows Store. These apps would run in the same kind of sandbox as regular Universal apps, keeping the system secure.

Businesses would absolutely love the idea of this phone because they could simply add their enterprise software to the Windows Store and have their employees run that full software right on their phone. Students, artists, pretty much anyone who needs true computational power on their phone would benefit from this device.

Obviously, the Surface Phone would be running a low-powered Intel Atom chip (maybe a Core M if Intel can really cut down on its power consumption), which wouldn’t offer much performance for a full Windows PC, but it would still be very cool to have that capability.

While I’ve said before that the Surface Phone would be a terrible idea for Microsoft, I feel now that it maybe be the best course of action to boost their mobile platform’s struggling existence and to show the world that Microsoft really means business when it comes to mobile.