Microsoft is prepared to invest in foldable devices once more
Microsoft released two foldable Surface devices and decided not to bring a third because it clearly didn’t see a future for the product. However, the company is now preparing for a new approach in the foldable segment, at least Microsoft’s new patent application this week hints.
The actual filing date for Microsoft’s patent is around December 2022, and it was finally published in February of this year. The new-look Microsoft foldable phone is likely to be a phone with a vertical hinge axis, as the filing highlights, and a bezel that supports the external and internal displays.
The new hinge mechanism clearly points to a new smartphone with a foldable screen that Microsoft can develop using its patent. The Surface Duo lineup didn’t make much of a dent in the foldable space, and it’s become clear that the product never had the tools and software to match its price tag.
Filed in 2022, the patent clearly shows that the company also understood the need to come up with a different foldable product that can give the Samsung Galaxy Z Folds, Google Pixel Folds and the rumored Apple foldable device a run for their money.
The company has been busy with AI development thanks to the OpenAI collaboration, but it cannot ignore the need to be involved in a segment that is gradually taking shape, especially when Apple enters the market with its own foldable product.
However, patent filings are common and companies do it to avoid the rise of competition, so it doesn’t mean that said foldable device will become a reality, and for now we can only wait and see if Microsoft tries its luck one more time.
