Surface Phone Specs Rumors: Microsoft's Patent Hints at Possible Foldable Smartphone Release
Recently, reports spotted a Microsoft patent filing that suggested the company was looking into making a mobile device with an entirely foldable touchscreen panel.
Microsoft is still keeping quiet on the existence - let alone the development - of the long-rumored Surface Phone. However, from time to time, rumors surface and testify that Microsoft is indeed working on the hardware product, and this is one of those instances.
Online news source Windows Latest recently discovered that Microsoft had filed for a patent titled "Hinge with Free-Stop Function" last week. As the document's name suggests, the invention is all about making a foldable touchscreen panel connected by a hinge that is flexible by 360 degrees.
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Microsoft also aimed to provide a mobile device with a pair of foldable screens, and when both are open, it will seem like "a single integrated display."
Microsoft's filing specifically mentioned that their invention was hoping to produce a "hinge mechanism coupled to at least a dual-display device wherein the displays can rotate with respect to each other through 360 degrees."
The document then explained that this hinge mechanism would allow people to use this kind of mobile device in several ways, such as folded in a closed position, like a tablet or a book where the displays are spread out on a single plane, or even "back-to-back in a fully-open position."
Microsoft also explained at length what they envisioned for the device's hinges. Generally, they said it would follow an S-shaped path with "at least one flexible connection member."
On the other hand, Microsoft's patent filing also tackled the issue of having hinges connecting parts of mobile devices. The company said hinges can be "problematic" when used for dual-display hardware products since they can "protrude from the device as it switches between positions."
Microsoft then explained that they had the hinge protrusion issue in mind while also considering that display panels for mobile devices were becoming thinner nowadays. Because of this, the company aimed to produce "improved hinges" for a worry-free dual-display device.
Naturally, the patent filing did not mention anything about a Surface Phone. It is also important to note that technology firms file patents all the time, but not all of the inventions become a reality and are sold in the market.
