But Microsoft doesn't want you to call it a phone, even though it can take calls and the video above suggests otherwise. It's a foldable device in a new category. "It's a Surface," Panos Panay, Microsoft's chief product officer tells Wired. It certainly looks like a foldable phone, especially since it runs Android apps.
It has two 5.6-inch displays attached via a thin centre hinge that unfolds flat to create an 8.3-inch diagonal split working surface. It folds back so you can use just one side of the screen at a time. It might not have as seamless a screen as the Huawei Mate X and Samsung Galaxy Fold, but with Gorilla Glass screens it could avoid the issues Samsung faces with its plastic display.
The device works with a stylus, but we don't know much else about it. It can take phone calls, as the video above shows, but we don't know if it has a slot for a SIM card. The cameras seem to be front-facing only for now. And we're not sure what version of Android it's getting. Plus, it's going to be a long time before we see it. The company targets a "Holiday 2020" release. There's going to be more iterations to it before we see the final product.
While Microsoft doesn't want to call it a phone, it does want the device to be something that will help "to create the next wave of dual-screen computing and unlock a new era of mobile creativity." It could be a way to showcase the best of its productivity suite, while also serving as a portable entertainment device. Who knows? At this point, the possibility seems endless, and we want to see where Microsoft takes it. There's already a tablet version of this, too.