The Microsoft Surface Phone may be one of the most anticipated smartphones these days, but it looks like its launch is still a long way off.

Recently, Microsoft confirmed that the Surface Phone will not be part of the Microsoft's launch event happening later this month. According to Microsoft analyst Mary Jo Foley, the launch scheduled on October 26 will focus on the Microsoft Surface All-in-One personal computer (PC) and will not feature the highly anticipated Surface smartphone.

The Microsoft Surface Phone has in fact not been officially confirmed yet by the Surface maker. According to reports, the Redmond-based company will feature Windows Phones from OEMs instead of the Surface Phone, and this will be the sole Windows mobile-centric part of the launch event.

Foley, however, revealed that the device might be released considerably later. This suggests that while the Surface Phone won't be part of the upcoming affair, it might still possibly turn up sometime in the far future.

There are theories that the smartphone will be released in fall of 2017 or in 2018. On the other hand, some media outlets speculate that the device might not arrive at all. Since the software giant has been mum about its release, some believe that the company may have already abandoned all its efforts in creating the smartphone, assuming it has already started working on it.

The Microsoft Surface Phone is said to come in three variants: consumer, enthusiast and business models, and to feature a display size of 5.5 to 6 inches, 8GB worth of RAM, 64GB internal storage, and Intel's Kaby Lake processor.