A lot has been said in the past few months about Microsoft’s upcoming Andromeda/Surface Phone. The two new Andromeda related patents which were submitted in October 2016, but published yesterday feature intriguing innovations developed by Microsoft to make a foldable phone user-friendly by outlining what could be done with a hinge right in the middle of the screen.

Microsoft’s new surface phone, codenamed Andromeda is a folding tablet that combines the description of slate and phone.

At this point, Microsoft is just developing it in public. https://t.co/Lv9QeIRgWp

h/t @stevenwlack pic.twitter.com/VHJfGcFZTa

— Brad Sams (@bdsams) April 26, 2018

Curved Edge display with controlled luminance

The patent titled “Curved Edge display with controlled luminance” talks about a prismatic luminance-correcting layer that is connected to the light-releasing surface of a curved OLED display. This patent explains at great length about reorienting the light that comes out from the display’s curved portions. The person who looks at it will see a plane image. This is how Microsoft explains in the patent:

“The display matrix includes a flat face portion, a curved corner portion, a light-releasing surface, and a series of pixels extending across the flat face portion and around the curved corner portion. Coupled to the light-releasing surface of the display matrix, the image-correcting layer is configured to transmit light released from the flat face portion of the display matrix and to reorient light released from the curved corner portion of the display matrix such that the transmitted light and the reoriented light exit the image-correcting layer substantially in parallel, forming an apparent plane image of the series of pixels. Arranged between the light-releasing display surface and the image-correcting layer, the luminance-correcting layer is configured to deflect the light released from the curved corner portion into an acceptance profile of the image-correcting layer.”

Credit- Windows Central

Input based on interactions with a physical hinge

Another patent titled “Input based on interactions with a physical hinge,” explains how the sensors in Surface Phone could facilitate hinge gestures. This is done by measuring a first angle of the hinge and accordingly sensing movements.

Credit- Windows Latest

The patent describes how the hinge manipulation can be used as a substitute method of interacting with its Operating System (OS). This, as explained in the document is much more than merely touching and swiping on a conventional touchscreen. The patent states:

“In some implementations, interactions with the hinge can be combined with one or more additional input signals to modify an operation associated with the hinge interaction. These additional input signals can include a variety of different input signals, such as an indication of an orientation of the device, a velocity at which the hinge interaction is performed, touch signals indicating how the user is holding the device, and so on. Accordingly, a variety of different input signals can be combined with the hinge interaction to modify the operation associated with the hinge interaction.”

It is too early to speculate, but if Microsoft’s Andromeda device hits the market, it will certainly be a new-generation device. Let’s wait and watch to see what changes Microsoft’s surface phone will bring in the smartphone industry.