Although smartphone enthusiasts who have restlessly been waiting to get their hands on Microsoft's Surface Phone might have something to cheer about, they're in for a really long wait.

While multiple sources have been indicating that the long-rumored Surface Phone might not even see the light of day, the company's chief executive Satya Nadella have debunked these rumors confirming in an interview that they are indeed working on phones. The only catch is that these handsets might look nothing like a conventional iPhone killer.

As far as the mobile business is concerned, Microsoft has failed to keep pace with Apple and Android. The company always seemed to be lagging behind. In fact, despite reinventing the Windows mobile experience a few times, and bringing back Nokia in one of the most epic tech deals of the century, nothing really helped. Rather than giving iPhone a run for its money, the popular software maker ended up killing its old Nokia along with its mobile plan.

On the brighter side, the tech giant took the software realm by storm rolling out Microsoft edition of the Galaxy S8. Nevertheless, the company has not given up on mobile phones, and though it is unlikely to hit the store shelves in near future, the Surface Phone is indeed in the offing, BGR reported.

In a podcast for MarketPlace's Make Me Smart (via Gadgets 360), Nadella threw light on the company's education initiative, science fiction, data privacy and more importantly he spilled the beans about Microsoft's plans related to future phones. According to Nadella, they are looking at new ideas. Aside from confirming that they'll make more phones, he added that these devices may not come bearing traditional cosmetic appearance.

That hint, coupled with the statement of Continuum and Surface's unusual hardware design, shows that Microsoft is looking to develop a device that could transform from a phone into a laptop/PC. So far, Microsoft has not really transformed a handset into a PC with Continuum, since the Windows 10 Mobile operating system heavily relies on Universal Windows Apps in order to work up to par, according to TheVerge.

Microsoft will need to leave no stone unturned in its bid to enhance Continuum and bring in desktop apps into the Windows Store before Nadella's hints at phone hardware comes to fruition.