The team behind the impressive-looking new Microsoft Surface and Surface Book (Microsoft's first ever laptop) are about to turn their talents to the mobile market, with a new flagship 'Surface Phone' apparently scheduled for release in the second half of 2016.

Citing sources inside Microsoft, Windows Central reports that Panos Panay, the creator of the Surface and Microsoft's head of devices, has been given the green light to develop a high-end Microsoft smartphone.

Microsoft has a hand in the mobile market already - they created the Windows Phone and Windows Mobile operating systems, which proved moderately popular but still fell well behind iOS and Android. However, the devices themselves usually came from other companies, like Nokia.

Microsoft started releasing phones under their own name after they bought Nokia's mobile business last year, but this new phone should be a fresh start - an entirely Microsoft-made phone, inside and out, without any of the old Nokia trappings.

Microsoft took a huge hit after the Nokia acquisition, and ended up sacking 7,800 staff, leading to speculation that it was axing all plans to make its own smartphone, However, it looks like the idea is back on the table.

What form this phone might take is still unclear - but the recent releases of Microsoft's new Surface devices suggest that Panay's team could produce something very impressive.

In the meantime, the company has to continue trying to sell its Microsoft-branded Lumia 950, 550 and 650 models.