Microsoft’s Andromela surface phone set for launch early next year and the “Andromeda” foldable device might feature a holographic display.
This is some kind of rise-of-the-dead-scenario. Yes, we can all admit, Windows Phone is dead, but it seems Microsoft hasn’t given up on the idea of Windows on Mobile just yet. The company was internally testing the much chattered Surface Phone and now a foldable mobile-type device codenamed ‘Andromeda’.
We already know that Microsoft is planning for a foldable Windows 10 device as the company has not only patented similar designs but the executives also confirmed that Microsoft’s next Surface mobile device won’t be a simple smartphone.
Microsoft will use the Windows 10 Composable Shell (CShell) to run Windows 10 on any form factors such as a foldable device. Additionally, a reliable rumour also confirmed that Microsoft’s foldable mobile is already in the prototype phase.
Microsoft’s foldable Surface device may hit the market in 2019. The tech company will surprise us with the innovative device with some interesting info regarding the hybrid’s functionality.
Microsoft watcher Brad Sams recently revealed that HoloLens inventor Alex Kipman is also working on the development of the displays for the foldable mobile device ‘Andromeda’.
“One rumor that I have heard but have not been able to confirm is that Microsoft wants to build a holographic display to be able to show holograms,” he explained.
According to a new book written by journalist and tech blog Thurrot.com collaborator Brad Sams, ‘Beneath a Surface’ reveals Microsoft’s foldable phone is going to be quite similar to Samsung’s recently unveiled foldable phone and Huawei’s upcoming foldable phones.
As the book says, the Microsoft foldable phone will run on a customized version of Windows, just like Windows Phone in the past. The device can be folded up from a phone to a tablet.
The book also talks about other devices that Microsoft is scheduling through 2019.
We can expect a new Xbox One console, Surface laptops with AMD chips instead of Intel’s, re-designed Surface Studio and a direct iPad Pro 12.9 competitor.
However, the book provides to its readers a brief sight around Microsoft’s journey to build advanced Surface devices which played a big role in making the company one of the world’s biggest PC makers.
It’s not to be a surprising news as Microsoft’s Andromeda Project has been rumored for years. The phone is expected to officially launch early next month with a new and disruptive category.
As earlier leaks render the prototype models of Microsoft Surface Phone have support for styluses and notepad-like apps to take quick notes. It will smear the binary between mobile and stationary computing.
Now an Italian website has spotted a project from Microsoft Research team where the company demos a tablet-sized device which supports Kinect-like sensor, confirming that Microsoft was testing such displays since 2014.
“Many people are working on near-field user-interface devices that detect hover, gesture, and pose. But there is nothing in the space in front of a device to show the user what to do. This project introduces a floating display that hovers over the device, providing visual cues for gestural interactions,” Microsoft Research team explains.
A similar technology could be implemented on the Andromeda mobile device to produce holograms. It is worth noting that the foldable Andromeda mobile device is not the long-rumoured Surface Phone, the original concept of the mythical mobile device was probably cancelled when Intel killed the SoFIA and Broxton chip.
