It has been over a year since Microsoft unveiled a mobile device, but rumours of the company working on its mysterious Surface-branded device just refuse to die. Reports of the company working on such a device have been going on for years and a recent report by MSPoweruser gives us a brand new take on what to expect from the device.
A video was apparently uploaded by accident on a Microsoft-related social channel, and may have revealed details about the upcoming device. As per the video (which has since been deleted), the device may no longer be called the Surface Phone, but rather Surface Mobile. The text goes on to highlight some of the features that the device might offer.
The text mentions that the device is “not just a handheld terminal,” but a “portable work platform.” There are also mentions of a new “onto table” projection with Continuum. This seems to suggest that Microsoft may looking at a portable device with full Windows 10 capability that can project a screen onto a table. The text mentions that the projection may be sustained for about an hour of work, which kind of makes sense considering the size of the battery used in most smartphones.
There is a mention of “185 degrees, providing a comfortable experience.” This could be related to a Microsoft patent that was published a few months back. The patent showed a foldable smartphone and the ‘185 degree’ may be in reference to that. There are also mentions that the device may be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platform.
Further, the report notes that the device will be “equipped” with the Surface Pen. This suggests that the device may not only add support for Microsoft’s stylus, but may also have a slot for it, similar to what the Samsung Galaxy Note series does with the S-Pen. The Surface Pen may also be used to quickly bring up OneNote. Finally, the text mentions two devices namely the Surface Peking, and Surface Slavonia. These are most likely codenames for two variants of the Surface Phone/Surface Mobile.
It is not yet known if or when the elusive Surface-branded smartphone will finally see the light of day. In an interview with the Australian Financial Review back in November last year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that the company was not going to launch into a device category without bringing something new to the table. With the current leak is anything to go by, then Microsoft may indeed have something quite interesting up its sleeve.