Microsoft launched the Surface Duo in 2020. It was a dual-display Android phone that could be opened like a book. The Surface Duo 2, which came out in 2021, continued to sport the same design, albeit with better internals. According to a report by WindowsCentral, Microsoft may offer a foldable screen on the Surface Duo 3 instead of dual displays.

The report states that the company has decided to launch the Surface Duo 3 as a foldable phone like the Galaxy Z Fold series after conducting hardware prototyping and experimentation for about a year. The Duo 3 is expected to sport an inward folding design with a foldable screen, a 180-degree hinge, and an external cover display.

The publication states that Microsoft had decided to launch the Surface Duo 3 with a dual-display design like its predecessor models. The Duo 3 with dual displays was expected to come with improvements like a narrower design, taller displays with reduced bezels, and wireless charging. The dual-display design has been scrapped, as the company has seemingly decided to launch the Surface Duo 3 as a foldable phone.

The specifications of the Microsoft Surface Duo 3 is yet to be revealed. Also, there is no confirmation as to whether the device will be ready to launch in the fourth quarter of this year. While the device is being internally called as the third-generation Duo phone, there is a possibility that the company may launch it with a different name in the market.

The report also states that Microsoft is putting more effort into the software of the device to ensure it stands out from the rest of the foldables available on the market. One of the efforts is to offer an ecosystem between the Android-powered Surface Duo 3 and Windows PCs. The publication also states that the company may expand its Android smartphone lineup by launching devices with different form factors. It appears that the long-rumored Surface Phone may finally come true.

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In July, Microsoft had reportedly stalled the rumored Andromeda OS powered Surface Phone. The reason behind it was that Andromeda was not ready to be integrated in Windows 10. The Surface Phone rumors have erupted again now since Andromeda OS language pack has appeared on Microsoft Store. This indicates that the Redmond giant could be prepping up to test the Andromeda OS. The text springs from the language pack have revealed some vital information on the alleged Surface Phone device.

Details that have surfaced through the language pack of Andromeda OS has revealed that the rumored Surface Phone will be a foldable device with two opposable displays along with an external screen. The Microsoft Andromeda OS device will be equipped dialer for making phone calls which indicates that this foldable device will be a smartphone. It will also contain a feature that will allow it to record phone calls automatically. Tapping twice on the display of the device will turn it off

The device will not only run apps designed for Andromeda OS, but also Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps. For security, the device will be equipped with features like fingerprint reader as well as an iris scanner. The Productivity Mode feature available on the device allow users to connect it to a larger display for desktop PC experience.

• Read More: Microsoft brings Android mirroring on Windows 10 via Your Phone app

There is no information available on when Microsoft will be bringing the rumored Andromeda OS device to the market. However, now that the evidence of the active development of the OS have surfaced, the arrival of the alleged Surface Phone may not be far away. As of this writing, there are not details on the specifications of the device. If the launch of the device is really nearing, forthcoming reports may soon reveal details on its specs soon.

(source 1, 2|via 1, 2)

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Since the failure of Windows-powered phones, several patents and leaks hinted at the existence of a Microsoft Surface Phone. Even the Redmond giant implicitly confirmed its intention to come back in the mobile devices market multiple times. Now, new references to the upcoming phone appeared in a leaked email, a tweet by Panos Panay and even some APIs in the latest Windows 10 preview. Starting from the APIs: they refer to applications which can adapt their user interface and features depending on the position of the hinge. According to the code found, there will be five modes: closed, concave, convex, flat and full.

This confirms the existence of a foldable device, and according to the latest patents and leaks, Microsoft Surface Phone will probably be a foldable device. The mail confirms that it will be a pocketable device, so there are no doubts it will be a phone-sized device. It will belong to a brand new category of devices fostering innovation, coming under the Andromeda project. A new revolution may be incoming, just as the first Surface convertible tablets. Note that Surface tablets have successfully created a new category of devices which many people are using instead of classic laptops because of their versatility.

Do you think they got the resemblance right?
Huge thanks to LG Display for the awesome caricature. #nailedit pic.twitter.com/vejlOIVuoK

— Panos Panay (@panos_panay) June 28, 2018

Even Apple has copied Microsoft with its iPad Pro line-up supporting detachable keyboards and a stylus. Microsoft Surface Phone is also expected to come with stylus support: it would make it the only non-Samsung Galaxy Note device to support a pen for handwriting and drawing. Further, Panos Panay has published a tweet two days ago which implicitly hints at LG supplying the displays of the new foldable Microsoft Surface Phone. The post contains a caricature of Panos Panay made by LG and a hinged photo frame. Make your own conclusions.

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Around a year back, when Microsoft had released the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, it had removed all the phone-related APIs from it. This was one of the clear hints for Windows phone users that Microsoft had no plans to launch a smartphone anytime soon. Also, the company had shifted its focus towards Always-Connected PC for making Windows 10 available on PCs driven by Snapdragon 835 and 845 chipsets and LTE modems.

Fresh information reveals that Microsoft has replaced the APIs into the upcoming Redstone 5 that will be arriving as Fall Creators update later this year. Since Microsoft has included phone-related API again in Windows 10, the rumor mill is now speculating that a Surface Phone may debut by the end of this year. It may sound interesting, but the rumors about Surface Phone have been circulating since the past few years.

The Lumia 950 and 950 XL phones were the last flagship phones that were introduced in 2015. Since then, the rumor mill is speculating on the existence of Surface Phone. Some reports have claimed that Microsoft’s Project Andromeda could be the highly awaited Surface Phone. However, some reports claim that these could be two separate devices.

The arrival of phone-related APIs in Windows 10 could mean that Microsoft is making way for developers to start working on programs that will run on the rumored Surface Phone. Previous reports have claimed that the Surface Phone could be a business centric pocket PC device that will be arriving with a stylus.

Read More:Microsoft Patents New Surface Pen With Built-in LEDs

Recent reports have claimed Samsung, LG, Apple, Huawei are all gearing up to launch foldable smartphones by next year or later. Like the aforementioned companies even Microsoft has filed for foldable display technology in the recent years which also suggests that the Surface Phone may feature a foldable screen.

Do you think Microsoft will take on Samsung and Apple with Surface Phone in the near future? Share us your views by posting your comments below.

(source|image)

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Microsoft is yet to release an official statement on whether it will be launching its own smartphone in the near future. However, recent patent filings for smartphone/tablet hybrid from the company have suggested that the company may introduce the highly anticipated Surface Phone soon. It appears that the company is really working on a Surface Phone as an engineer from Microsoft China has accidentally confirmed its existence.

On a Chinese Q&A site, a user had complained on the poor integration of the Cortana assistant on Android. An engineer with a Microsoft owned account replied on it by saying that the reason behind it is the lack of permissions available on Android platform.

Well, the only place it can currently work fine is on Microsoft’s Windows 10 OS. The engineer went on to say that the Cortana would be working perfectly on the Surface Phone. However, he was quick enough to edit his answer to add that he is not sure whether the Surface Phone exists.

Read More: Microsoft’s Patent Show How it is Experimenting to Add a Large Camera in Thin Smartphone/Tablet Hybrid

Rumors have it that the Surface Phone could be codenamed as Andromeda. It may feature a large display that will allow users to use it as a tablet. The folding mechanism on it may also make it possible to use it like a smartphone. Some reports claim that company may debut the Surface Phone later this year.

Do you think that Microsoft will re-enter smartphone business with a better product to take on the likes of Apple, Samsung and Google? Share us your views by adding your comments below.

(source|via 1, 2)

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Yet another patent application showing a foldable smartphone/tablet hybrid from Microsoft has surfaced today. The patent listing of the Microsoft’s smartphone/tablet hybrid with USPTO shows the three different technologies that the company is experimenting with to incorporate a big camera module in a compact body.

The first one is the Split-Camera Augmentation technology through which the camera module can be divided on each half of the device with one half housing the camera lens. Through micromechanics that are used for optical image stabilization, the hybrid device will be able to realign the camera accurately when the camera is required to be used.

Floating Camera Module is a less sophisticated technology in which thickness of the camera module is more than that of the device. Since it is a floating module, pushing it from the front will make it protrude from the rear side of the device. Pushing it from the back will not only the device to be laid flat on a surface but also it will protrude the camera module from the front.

Retractable Camera Cap will make the camera come out from the inner face of the device. The other half of the device has a corresponding pit that will work as a cap to cover the camera when the device is closed.

Read More: Microsoft’s Latest Foldable Design Patent Could Be For The Surface Phone

As mentioned above, a number of patent filings for foldable smartphone/tablet from Microsoft have appeared in the past. There is no confirmation on whether Microsoft is working on the highly anticipated Surface Phone device, but it appears that the Redmond giant is experimenting with multiple ideas for a mysterious device.

Do you think that Microsoft has a killer device to take on the likes of Apple iPhone X and Samsung Galaxy Note 8? Share us your thoughts by adding your comments below.

Via

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Microsoft recently declared that they won’t release any hardware product based on Windows 10 Mobile. The feature-updates of the operating system have stopped as well and according to the company, the next updates will only contain fixes and security improvements. CEO Satya Nadella said that if a new mobile device was to come in the future, it will be entirely different from what we saw until now. But there are many people who did not lose their hope about a Surface Phone, and they may be right.

A new design patent surfaced at the USPTO: a 2-in-1 device with a self-regulating hinge. This is what can be found in the description: “pair of self-regulating hinge assemblies rotatably securing hinge ends of the first and second portions around a first hinge axis associated with the first portion and a second hinge axis associated with the second hinge axis so that an extent of rotation around the first hinge axis corresponds to an extent of rotation around the second hinge axis”. The alleged Microsoft Surface Phone includes two displays which can become one, and it can also be used with a physical keyboard.

As Microsoft said goodbye to Windows 10 Mobile, this device will probably run Windows 10 on ARM and it may sport a flagship Snapdragon SoC by Qualcomm. According to rumours, Microsoft Surface Phone is actually codenamed Andromeda, and it is worth mentioning that this is not the first patent surfaced online. Another one has recently shown a prototype of a single camera which can be used on a foldable mobile device, even when its display is folded. Further, a leakster has recently found an app called Journal on Windows Whiteboard, which hints at two pages, one on the left and one of the right, for content creators. However, there is still no official declaration by the company about a Microsoft Surface Phone.

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The market share of Windows 10 Mobile has considerably decreased to under 1 percent as Microsoft has not released a new smartphone since October 2015. Many may have speculated that the operating system would perish soon looking at its current status. A report from the previous month stated that Microsoft may soon kill Windows 10 Mobile. However, it appears that Microsoft is internally testing a refreshed UI for Windows 10 Mobile and it will be made available through a new smartphone.

Several Microsoft insiders have revealed that the new smartphone is speculated to be driven by “a different branch of Windows Mobile.” Also, the user interface of the operating system is said to be different from what we can see on the current Windows 10 Mobile OS. It seems that the new UI is in the initial stage of development. Also, it may not support older Windows Mobile apps. In order to provide new mobile experience on the forthcoming edition of Windows 10 Mobile, the Redmond giant may have axed the Silverlight apps.

Read More: Microsoft Launches Surface Laptop with 13.5 inch Display and Windows 10 S for $999

Petri’s Brad Sams is of the view that the release of the device ay be around a year or less away. The new device is expected to support UWP apps. The market is filled with numerous Android and iOS devices. Hence, in order to attract consumers, Microsoft will have to provide a new experience through the redesigned Windows 10 Mobile. There is a possibility that Microsoft may cancel the project completely if the testing does not yield good results.

Microsoft has killed its Lumia line of smartphones and it has said that other OEMs will continue to launch phones running on Windows Mobile OS. Hence, the rumor mill is eagerly anticipating on a Surface branded smartphone. However, there is no confirmation on whether the new hardware that is used for testing the refreshed Windows 10 Mobile experience is the highly anticipated Surface phone.

In a recent interview on Marketplace’s make me smart, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that the company will make phones. However, the new phones will not appear like conventional phones. He added, “We make phones today, we have OEMs like HP making phones and others and we picked a very specific area to focus on which is management, security, and this one particular feature that we have called Continuum, which is a phone that can even be a desktop,” He also claimed that the Surface is a good example on how the firm could differentiate in the market.

Hence, the upcoming smartphone could possibly have Continuum as one of its best features. Moreover, it may sport a unique design like Surface devices. The alleged phone may ideally transform in a notebook or PC.

(source|via)

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Alleged renders of Microsoft Surface Phone renders had surfaced yesterday. Even though they were found to be fake, the trial production of the smartphone is rumored to begin soon.

Microsoft Surface Phone Leaked Renders

The new renders of the rumored Surface Phone have been revealed by a well-known Chinese leakster on Weibo. What’s interesting about the leaked photos is that the smartphone carries Surface Phone branding at the bottom side on its rear.

Microsoft Surface Phone leaked photos have surfaced several times, but none were found to be true. Even the new renders are fake as the handset features Carl Zeiss branding that is not in use since 2013, Phone Arena reported. In fact, these renders may belong to an older prototype of a Lumia smartphone.

The Redmond giant has not confirmed whether it is working on Surface Phone. However, in the previous month, rumors started swirling that the company has entered an agreement with Taiwan-based Pegatron as the only ODM (Original Design Manufacturing) for production of the Surface Phone.

Microsoft Surface Phone Variants

Early speculations suggest that Microsoft is testing numerous prototypes of Surface Phone. All the prototype units are said to be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 that comes with Quick Charge 4.0. The fast charging feature reportedly can gain 50 percent battery power by charging the device for 15 minutes.

One of the Surface Phone prototypes has 64-bit Windows 10 Mobile with 6 GB of RAM. This variant seems to support X86 apps. It is rumored that this prototype cannot run X86 apps directly but it will allow users to install them. These apps can be only run in Continuum.

Another prototype also features 64-bit Windows 10 Mobile with 4 GB of RAM. This model is said to be incapable of running X86 apps in Continuum. These variants suggest that different models targeting consumer and enterprise users are in works.

Related:Microsoft reportedly is testing Surface Phone

3-in-1 Form Factor

A laptop dock accessory that will allow users to connect Surface Phone to it is also speculated to be in works. By this, the Microsoft Surface Phone will be able to deliver 3-in-1 form factor.

Hence, the Surface Phone would allow customers to use it in three ways. Apart from using it as a handheld smartphone, the device can also deliver full-fledged desktop experience by continuing to a larger screen through the Continuum. The laptop dock is expected to replace users’ laptop.

Microsoft Surface Phone Release Date

It is expected to come preloaded within Redstone 3 update of Windows 10. Hence, its release date is expected to set around August or September 2017.

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Microsoft and a couple of stores and carriers (in the US) have been offering some mouth-watering deals on Lumia phones for a while now. The thing is, the company isn’t just looking for more people to embrace the Windows Phone OS, but according to an insider at Microsoft, the company is trying to clear stock.

Usually, when a manufacturer reduces the price of their phones in order to clear stock, the reason is because there is a new model(s) launching soon. But in this case, it is because the company is shutting down the Lumia line by December, as revealed by the Microsoft employee.

We’ve seen fewer manufacturers release phones running windows. The latest we covered here is the SoftBank 503LV made by Lenovo for Japanese carrier, Softbank.

READ MORE: ZTE Little Fresh 4 Now Available for 699 Yuan

The only windows mobile phone people are looking forward to is the Surface Phone which has been in the works for a couple of years now. It is expected to be released in fall of this year, however, some are saying the release date has been pushed to next year while others say the phone may never even see the light of day.

If you want to get a lumia phone, you might want to look out for deals floating around.

Source: gsmarena|phonearena

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According to foreign news agencies, Microsoft has a planning to built their own mobile phone (Surface Phone) and will using Mediatek chipset as the main processor on those Windows Phone 8 smartphone.

The news said MediaTek and Huawei is jointly to develope develop WP8 Surface smartphone. But this morning, MediaTek clarified that this message is not the true, the company did not develop products for Microsoft’s new mobile operating system and mainly still support Android-based devices.

Microsoft plans to push its own brand tablet computer Surface product market, Microsoft is planning to launch its own brand smartphone next year. Microsoft KIN series smart phone announced in 2010, the team has been integrated with WP7, Microsoft’s new planning smart phone may be the low-cost intelligent machines, jointly developed by MediaTek and Huawei.

MediaTek stressed, becuase the foreign reports is not true, because the chipset ehich made by Mediatek is specialized for the Android operating system, has not been developed to support Microsoft WP8 operating system products.

MediaTek operating outlook in the second half bright smartphone chip demand is buoyant third quarter, consolidated revenue was 29.47 billion yuan, an increase of 25.72%, beyond the financial forecast corporate optimistic by MediaTek, a smart phone chip shipments may hope break through the 100 million units mark.

MediaTek gradually gained the smartphone chip market, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics recently published report, MediaTek, the first half of this year to benefit from strong growth in low-end smart phone, compared to the same period last year in the global smart phone application processor business jumped 13 times the market share ranking rose to third place.

According to Strategy Analytics, global smartphone applications processor sales in the first half year-on-year increase of 61% to $ 5.5 billion; Qualcomm (Qualcomm) LTE Snapdragon processor demand driven, shipping, sales ranking the leading position, the second and fourth names are Samsung Electronics and Broadcom.

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