Microsoft could be considering a return to the smartphone market, but with a foldable phone. A new patent shows that the Windows maker is working on a gadget with a foldable screen, which resembles a smartphone.
A new one Microsoft-patent shows a foldable device with two screens and a separate piece of flexible glass in the middle, where the hinge is. The design is very similar to a flip phone, such as the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip.
The patent also states that devices with this design can be equipped with a clear plastic layer on top of the glass to allow for different viewing angles. The downside is that the mechanical parts of the hinge are visible.
The foldable gadget appears to close like a book and a laptop, which also makes the design attractive for a new Surface Tablet. That would currently be the most obvious application for Microsoft’s new, patented design. The company has not been in the smartphone business for years.
‘Our biggest mistake ever’
The Windows Phone platform was killed in January 2020, a decision that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says he deeply regrets. Last year he admitted that Microsoft gave up its mobile business too early and that it could still have been a success.
Former Microsoft CEOs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer also do not look back on Windows smartphones with satisfaction. Gates sees it as his “biggest mistake ever,” while Ballmer looks back on it as the thing he “regrets most.”
Windows 12 on your mobile?
The question remains what Microsoft will ultimately do with the technology in this patent. Often enough, a registered patent does not result in a new product coming onto the market. But given Nadella’s statements, it cannot be completely ruled out.
What would Windows phones look like today? A designer created a design for a mobile version of Windows 12 this year.
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Source: www.bright.nl
