Death of Intel’s Atom casts shadow over rumored Surface Phone

Intel’s plans to discontinue its Atom chips for smartphones and some tablets may not have killed the dream of a Microsoft Surface phone — just the piece of it that made it so enticing.

In the wake of a restructuring that relegated the PC to just another connected device, Intel confirmed today that it has cancelled its upcoming SoFIA and “Broxton” chips, following its decision to cancel its Atom X5 chips, also known as “Cherry Trail.” That leaves Intel with just one Atom chip, “Apollo Lake,” slated for convertible tablets.