The Next Microsoft Surface May Fit in Your Pocket

An Andromeda mockup by David Breyer.

Microsoft's next big piece of hardware, Andromeda, may just fit in your pocket. According to a report from The Verge, Andromeda is an upcoming Surface-branded computer that will fold up and bridge the gap between mobile phones and laptops.

That report is based on an internal document from Microsoft, which reads in part: “It’s a new pocketable Surface device form factor that brings together innovative new hardware and software experiences to create a truly personal and versatile computing experience...”

Interestingly, the company is allegedly experimenting with ARM processors in Andromeda prototyopes (this may be for superior battery life), but has not made any final decision about whether it will work with Intel or Qualcomm. Microsoft has also reportedly been working on stylus input for the device, so that users can unfold it and write in it like a book.

According to The Verge's report, Microsoft hopes to release Andromeda in 2018 with devices from other hardware partners to come later.

Windows Phone was a flop and caused Microsoft to miss the smartphone boom, a notable hit as PCs lose market share. However, it appears that the Redmond, Wash.-based giant is eager to get on the next platform that combines the best of both.

Andromeda has been a long time coming, with plenty of leaks and reports about the device coming from patents and references in Windows 10's code.

Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and Mastodon @FreedmanAE.mastodon.social.

  • WildCard999
    Looks similar to the Nintendo 3DS.
    Reply
  • AndrewFreedman
    21099690 said:
    Looks similar to the Nintendo 3DS.

    That's just a mockup, but yeah, it sort of does!
    Reply
  • Ilya__
    21099690 said:
    Looks similar to the Nintendo 3DS.

    Given that they already have xbox, technically they could spin this device as a gaming hand-held (that can also make phone calls ;))
    Reply
  • -Fran-
    Oh, a Nokia 9110!

    It's been ages since i've seen one! (?)

    Cheers! :P
    Reply
  • Martell1977
    Windows Phone 8.1+ was a great phone OS, the problem they had was lack of a real flagship phone to generate publicity. Also, if they had found a way to support google app store, they could have really made some headway.

    I had a Nokia 822 and loved that phone, it was mid-range but performance was snappy and stable.

    When MS decided that they would stick to low end phones only, they pretty much killed their own product.
    Reply
  • derekullo
    My old Asus EEE could fit in my pocket.

    It could also play games like Wow at 800x480 at about 13 fps.

    Just enough for the auction house and chat.
    Reply
  • therealduckofdeath
    Martell1977, Windows Phone 7 was a great idea, Windows Phone 8.x and forward killed the ecosystem. They got too greedy and decided to make a locked down iOS clone instead of competing with Android.
    Reply
  • Martell1977
    21100649 said:
    Martell1977, Windows Phone 7 was a great idea, Windows Phone 8.x and forward killed the ecosystem. They got too greedy and decided to make a locked down iOS clone instead of competing with Android.

    Never experienced WP7, my phone came with 8.0, which was Ok. When 8.1 came out, it was a huge upgrade, everything worked better and faster. I don't know exactly what they were doing, but as for the operation of it, it was smooth.
    Reply
  • therealduckofdeath
    The reason Windows Phone died with Windows Phone 8 was because Microsoft locked down the user experience too much and they made simple things like side-loading a pain in the rear. The fact that they banned fundamental things like custom keyboards were just some of the nails in the coffin. I liked Windows Phone 7, despite all of its shortcomings, but I don't think Microsoft will get a new chance to get into mobile in a long long time. People seems to remember getting s.....d over for a long time...
    Reply
  • Martell1977
    21100765 said:
    The reason Windows Phone died with Windows Phone 8 was because Microsoft locked down the user experience too much and they made simple things like side-loading a pain in the rear. The fact that they banned fundamental things like custom keyboards were just some of the nails in the coffin. I liked Windows Phone 7, despite all of its shortcomings, but I don't think Microsoft will get a new chance to get into mobile in a long long time. People seems to remember getting s.....d over for a long time...

    Was probably the mentality of the time and probably the same team that had the horrid brain-child of Windows 8 on the desktop and decided that they new more what people wanted better than the people themselves. I'll never forget the start screen that looked like fisher-price puked on the screen.
    Reply