Even though Microsoft has reported a fall in Surface PC line and Windows phones revenues, the Redmond-based tech giant is aiming for new devices called "Surface Phones" and has made its patent public.
According to a report in Forbes on Monday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has confirmed that Microsoft will "make more phones, but they will not look like phones that are there today."
Earlier this year, Nadella declared that 2017 would see Microsoft launch the ultimate mobile device saying, "We will continue to be in the phone market not as defined by today's market leaders, but by what it is that we can uniquely do in what is the most ultimate mobile device."
On July 21, Microsoft reported that the Windows Surface revenue decreased two per cent -- mainly due to product lifecycle transitions. Phone revenues were effectively zero as with the previous quarter.
Even after these results, the company has now published patent on smartphones.
Titled 'Wireless Communications Device', the patent talks about a bendable smartphone with antenna, battery, SIM card holders and screen connectors split over a hinge to create a dual-winged device.
According to the patent, filed January 2016 and published today, turning the device into a clam shell would actually have advantages, such as separating the wireless components and reducing the risk of interference.
In the patent, there are two suggestions as to the design of the device. One is what has become the “traditional” foldable surface phone, and the other is a new design which features a thicker portion which forms a lip. A report on MSPoweruser the second design would allow Microsoft to more easily incorporate thicker elements such as cameras (both front and rear facing) which would be compromised by the other symmetrical design.
On the consumer side of things, Microsoft will continue to build up its cloud based activities that drove exponential growth and helped it report much better profits than expected for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, which ended on June 30.