A new patent from Microsoft has revealed a new Surface device that will feature four under display camera sensors, with the company’s logo being displayed when these cameras are not in use thanks to their alignment.

According to a LetsGoDigital report, the American tech giant had opened a vacancy for a ‘Principal Android Camera System Architect / Engineer for Surface Development’ back in October 2021. This is indicative of the company’s aim of improving the camera capabilities of its devices. In the same month, the brand had also filed a patent with the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) regarding this ‘Logo Camera’ design for a Surface device. The four cameras in question will be positioned similar to the logo design with each camera having its own color filter.

These four sensors will be placed under the display of the device and are intended for “mobile computing device, such as a Microsoft Surface device.” Furthermore, the cameras can display a color icon when the sensor is not in use to display the company’s logo on the front. So, the device will display the logo by default and switch to the camera when the shutter is activated. This quad camera module is set up in a 2 x 2 array and will enable Microsoft to make the product slimmer since multiple sensors would be comprised of thinner modules.

The camera will be capable of offering high resolution shots and high pixel density by optimizing each sensor for one particular color. In other words, one sensor will be solely for Blue, while another will be used for Green, Red, and Yellow. Unfortunately, the patent doesn’t reveal what kind of device the logo camera will be housed in, but the Surface lineup includes laptops, 2 in 1 PCs, and even Android tablets. For those interested, LetsGoDigital’s in house designed Giuseppe Spinelli has even offered a number of product renders that feature this unique camera system.

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Earlier this month, Microsoft filed for a new patent in Europe for a unique laptop. This device would feature an automatic display that is capable of adjusting its viewing angles to match the gaze of the user.

According to a PatentlyApple report, the American tech giant’s patent details a mechanism for an automatically adjusting display that can correct itself as per the users’ positioning in front of the notebook. This is unique considering the content being displayed on the screen could also have its orientation be changed so as to provide the user with the best possible viewing angle. Its applications in daily multimedia consumption are vast, especially in different settings like traveling or even be useful for differently abled people.

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As per the official notes on the Microsoft patent, no user interaction or input is needed to change the orientation or angle of the display. Meaning, it’s a completely automated system that actively monitors and changes the angle of the screen as per the users’ positioning. The mechanism will also be able to measure the distance of the user’s eye from the screen and even process the required alterations based on the mapped data.

At the moment, it is unknown if Microsoft is actually working on such a laptop, or just covering the base towards newer technology. Although, it could be quite useful in the market, for both professional individuals or for users that consume a lot of popular media as well. The company had filed the patent application back in December 2020, which got published on 7th January 2021.

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Microsoft put paid to speculations about its rumoured foldable phone when it announced the Surface Neo and Surface Duo in October 2019 with the Surface Duo adopting a folding phone design. The two models which happened to be Microsoft’s first attempt at the dual-screen phones was billed to be released in 2020. However, seems Microsoft has got another concept foldable phones in the works.

A recent patent application stumbled upon by MSPoweruser suggests the US company may be planning to launch a redesigned foldable phone that may have borrowed some design inspiration from the Galaxy Fold. The patent titled “FOLDABLE DISPLAY DEVICE WITH INTERACTABLE USER INTERFACE SURFACE ON THE EXTERNAL SHELL” was filed with the European Patent Office in 2018 and was published in December of 2019.

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The patent description details including a third screen at the back of a foldable smartphone so the user can interact with the phone without unfolding it into a tablet. Notably, this is the same concept used by Samsung on the Galaxy Fold which had an in-folding design with a small screen at the back that can be used when the phone is folded.

Interaction on the user interface surface during the closed state of the foldable display device may allow the user to select content to be shown on at least one display screen of the foldable display device on the interior section during a subsequent open state of the foldable display device.

Additionally, the user interface surface may be configured to allow an object produced (e.g., drawn or written) on the user interface surface to be stored for display on at least one of the first display screen, the second display screen, or the user interface surface. The interface will also allow users to transfer content to the bigger screen if they unfold the display. This could, in theory, allow seamless switching between displays and could improve the overall user experience.

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Microsoft‘s patent application has just been revealed and it points at what we should likely be expecting on the much-anticipated Surface Phone or perhaps one of the Surface device of the future. The patent application was for a device which comes with a “live hinge” that gives a device with two screens the ability to seamlessly open flat into a tablet mode. The device could also be used in a single screen mode whereby one of the screens is folded all the way around back. Here’s the sketch.

On the schematics above, the gray part in the middle is the live hinge which connects the two screens. The screens are numbered 160 and 170 and the live hinge allows the phone to have an unhindered degree of adjustability. The hinge ensures the connection of both screens is finely done such that the joint could pass unnoticed. But when folded, the screen resembles a pocketbook which may likely still function as a single unit.

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Microsoft describes the device as a “multi-part device” in the patent filing. The hinge also seems to allow three different user modes. One of the modes could allow, in certain configurations, a full 360 degrees of rotation. A second mode is the one where the screen is opened 180 degrees with both screens conjoined into one larger display. In the third mode, the device can be closed with no screens exposed. The patent filing also specifically refer to the size limitations of current single-screen mobile phones which strongly suggest that this is indeed what we might see out of the rumoured Surface Phone.

(source, via)

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