This Is How a Surface Phone Could Be Able to Become a Laptop

Microsoft is believed to be working on a new mobile device codenamed Andromeda but referred to by many as the Surface Phone, and a patent provides a glimpse into how the company could enable the conversion from phone to tablet and to laptop.

The patent, which was discovered by Twitter user @h0x0d, isn’t entirely new, and it’s been spotted in the past as well, though for some reason, the publishing date appears to be March 1, 2018.

Called “Hinged Device,” the technology detailed in the documentation describes the hinge that Microsoft could use to connect two different displays, as the company appears to be looking into relying on foldable screens and a hinge allowing several form factors.

This patent explains how the hinge would allow the device to switch to a new form factor depending on the position and the angle of the two displays. When closed shut, it could all be a phone, when fully open, it can play the role of a tablet, while the hinge would also allow a third form factor similar to a laptop.

One screen becoming a keyboard in laptop form factor

This means one of the screens would convert to a keyboard, similar to what Apple appears to be looking into for the future of the MacBook family of products.

“The description relates to devices, such as computing devices that have hinged portions. One example can include a first portion that includes a first display and a second portion that includes a second display,” the patent reads.

“This example can also include a determinative hinge assembly that rotatably secures the first and second portions around first and second hinge axes. [It] can have a first unflexed configuration when the first and second portions are parallel or perpendicular to one another and a second flexed configuration when the first and second portions contact one another when oriented at an oblique angle.”

Even though Microsoft has remained completely tight-lipped on plans for a new mobile device, most of the patents seem to suggest that something big is on its way, and it’s very likely to use foldable displays and a hinge powering multiple form factors.