Microsoft’s Surface range could one day include a folding, dual-screen device. Codenamed Andromeda, the device has been in the works for a couple of years and appears to neatly straddle the laptop and mobile categories — seemingly trying to make up for Windows Phone.
Microsoft’s Surface range could one day include a folding, dual-screen device. Codenamed Andromeda, the device has been in the works for a couple of years and appears to neatly straddle the laptop and mobile categories — seemingly trying to make up for Windows Phone.
Leaked internal documents have come to light that reveal Microsoft’s plans for „a new pocketable Surface device form factor that brings together innovative new hardware and software experiences to create a truly personal and versatile computing experience“.
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Microsoft is, understandably, not commenting on the leaks, but the documents — seen by the Verge — show that the company has been busily working away to create a „new and disruptive“ category of device. Having impressed many with its Surface designs so far, with Andromeda Microsoft seems to be looking to push things even further, blurring the boundaries between PCs and mobiles.
The Verge reports that the current designs for the pocketable Surface device are near-identical to the concepts drawn up by designer David Breyer:
Further evidence has been unearthed by Twitter user WalkingCat who found references to two-screened hinged devices in a Microsoft API:
It’s important to note that Andromeda is still very much in the prototype stages and — like the cancelled Surface Mini — it may never see the light of day. But at the moment we can see that Microsoft has definitely been working a dual-screen device that features a 360-degree hinge similar to Lenovo’s Yoga laptops. Prototype are ARM-powered, and stylus input has been experimented with.
In the words of the leaked documents, Microsoft is looking to „blur the lines between mobile and stationary computing“, and they even suggest that a device could be released this year — with devices of a similar design to follow from OEMs afterwards.
Image credit: David Breyer
