14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s Andromeda is a project that nobody can guarantee would ever see daylight, despite recent findings suggesting that the software giant is still working on it.
Another patent spotted online now shows that Microsoft is considering several approaches for Andromeda, including one that could bring it closer to the Surface Phone dream that never came true.
Technically, this patent describes a device that doesn’t use two foldable displays, as it’s the case of Andromeda, but just a single flexible panel. This idea isn’t entirely new and other have explored it as well, but for now Microsoft is still in the designing stage.
Called “Hinged Device,” the device would still use a hinge, just like Andromeda, and this could allow it to play the role of a typical smartphone and a larger tablet when not folded.
Project could be finalized next year
“The description relates to hinged devices, such as hinged computing devices,” the abstract section of the patent reads. “One example can include a first portion and a second portion that have hinge ends rotatably secured by a hinge assembly. The example can also include a flexible display positioned over the first portion, the hinge assembly, and the second portion.
The example can further include a deployable bridge support that is deployed to support the flexible display at the hinge assembly when the first and second portions are rotated from a closed orientation to an open orientation.”
Certainly, this is just an idea and not a guarantee that this is what Microsoft has in mind for Andromeda, but it’s pretty clear that the company is exploring all kinds of ideas, including this one that may bring us closer to a phone form factor.
As for any possible release date, expected more news in this regard to surface in the coming months, as Andromeda may get the go-ahead, if this really happens, sometime next year.
Via WindowsCentral