It seems that work on the Andromeda OS, at least, is ongoing. As reports suggested, Microsoft is still working on a dual screen device, and its software has a number of mobile-specific references. The folks at Aggiornamenti Lumia discovered these references in Andromeda-specific language packs on the Microsoft Store. They contained explicit references to “AndromedaOS”, and “FactoryOSAndromeda”.
Surface Phone Still Possible?
They also mention features like call recording, flipping the device over to answer, and ‘please text me’ commands. All of this seems to suggest that the reports of Microsoft pivoting Andromeda to a laptop may be overstated. However, there’s a possibility that the company is working on an ARM laptop with such functionality. This would enable texts and phone calls, though why you’d want to flip the device to answer is a mystery. It’s also possible the language packs contain defunct references, or that they’re for partner devices. Regardless, the packs describe the different states the Andromeda OS enables. There are references to “left and right screens that can be turned on and off”. There are also talks of gesture-enabled screenshots and automatic phone recording. Even so, it doesn’t seem likely that Microsoft will launch an Andromeda device at its Surface event tomorrow. Reports so far suggest that the future is still uncertain, particularly in regards to app support. Still, we hope to see some hint at what’s coming, and perhaps even a preview of the new OS.
