GETTY The Microsoft Surface Phone may have hit another hurdle

The Microsoft Surface Phone has reportedly suffered a major delay. The hotly-anticipated new Windows 10 mobile device was thought to be in development now as Microsoft prepares its next big mobile release. However a report has now claimed that the Surface Phone release date has now been pushed back significantly as Microsoft switches its focus back to the struggling Windows 10 Mobile platform.

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The news comes from Reddit, where a user claiming to be a former employee of a Microsoft contractor says that the Surface Phone will not be arriving for some time. The source, who uses the handle zombieacc, claims that the device will “probably” be released in late 2018 or 2019. This flies in the face of recent suggestions that the Surface Phone will be launched later this year, possibly as part of the ‘Redstone 3’ Windows 10 update.

GETTY Launching a Surface Phone would allow Microsoft to capitalise on several recent hardware successes

The source went on to claim that despite this delay, Microsoft is not giving up on the Surface Phone, which is set to be one of the most powerful devices launched by the company. “Nobody knows what they are working on right now, but they don’t seem to be giving up,” the user added. “Some special phone-pc-like Windows 10 ARM device will probably arrive in late 2018 or 2019. I have no more info on that, but I think Windows 10 ARM is much further away than some of us hope.”

WEIBO Photos leaked last year from China claimed this could be the Surface Phone

The Surface Phone could be Microsoft’s next great hardware advance, following the recent success of the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book laptop. Reports of a Microsoft-built smartphone have been circulating for some time, leading to speculation that the device could be launching soon. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella recently raised hopes among Microsoft fans that the device may be in development when he hinted last month that a Surface Phone could be "the ultimate mobile device”. However the company has downgraded work on its Windows 10 Mobile platform recently in favour of focusing on building other new hardware instead.