Microsoft appears to be working on a secret foldable device, codenamed Andromeda, slated for a possible 2018 release. The new Surface Mobile or Surface Phone is both a new software and hardware platform. The new software is an iteration of Windows 10 under Microsoft's Windows Core OS effort and is codenamed Andromeda OS. The new hardware for Andromeda is being built by Microsoft as well.
This news comes nearly nine years after Gizmodo reported on a similar project coined Courier. According to CNET, Microsoft killed Courier, which was to run on a modified version of Windows in favor of tablets that ran on the flagship Windows OS.
Andromeda drawing. Source: US patent #US20180113520
A patent application (US20180113520) filed by Microsoft in 2016 and published in April of 2018 reveals details of how the device may look and operate. The patent is for "techniques for input based on interactions with a physical hinge."
Another patent (US20180032109) filed in July of 2016 and published in February of 2018 provides some insights into the live hinge assembly. The abstract for the hinge patent states:
"A hinge assembly for a multi-part electronic device comprises a pair of opposing living hinge elements for connecting first and second parts of the multi-part electronic device. Each hinge element has a first segment, an intermediate segment and a second segment, and comprises a hinge axis, and a second hinged joint positioned at a junction of the second segment and the intermediate segment and defining a second hinge axis."
The part shaded gray in the image below is the live hinge. When opened to 180 degrees the hinge allows for the screens to be displayed with very little separation. When closed, the screens lie flat against each other. Andromeda could be used in five different configurations (flat, convex, concave, closed and full modes), according to code from Windows 10 build 17704 that was uncovered by Twitter user @h0x0d. This ups the game from 2-in-1 laptops capable of three configurations.
Depiction of "live hinge." Source: US patent #US20180032109
According to multiple reports, Microsoft may be introducing Andromeda as early as this year. Intel displayed a working concept dual-screen Windows 10 PC named Tiger Rapids at Computex 2018 (see this hands-on video of Tiger Rapids). While it's uncertain if Tiger Rapids will actually be released, rumors are that an Intel manufacturing partner is planning to release a similar device by the end of 2018.
