Inventors at Microsoft in a U.S. patent describe a “foldable display device,” but it looks very much like a mobile phone.

The patent assigned to Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC in Redmond was initially filed in February 2021 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and then updated on October 1, 2024, with additional details.

The device can fold up to 360 degrees without a crease. The patent describes a “covered glass layer” and “light-emitting layer” and backplate.

The inventors also created a method for folding the device in different directions, allowing the left and right glass covered sites to face each other or turn away.

Microsoft’s weak point for search and advertising has been the lack of a device small enough to act as a mobile phone, and the operating system to support it.

The company made strides with the introduction of the Surface Pro tablet and the Surface Book laptop, but creating a mobile phone that attracts users could change the dynamics for brands by reaching a broader audience on mobile devices.

Google has been working on building out its mobile phones for years, including the development of Android and Pixel phones, which has kept the company in the forefront of search, generative AI and advertising. 

It has been years since Microsoft killed Surface Duo, a foldable phone that ran on Android introduced in 2019, followed by Surface Duo 2. Microsoft was scheduled to stop supporting Surface Duo 2 in October 2024. So what is this foldable tablet size device explained in the patent?

Farther back, Microsoft Mobile Oy, a Finland subsidiary of the devices division, was involved in the development and manufacturing of mobile phones. It was established in 2014 following the Microsoft’s acquisition of Nokia’s Devices and Services in a deal valued at about €5.4 billion, which was completed that same year in April.

The deal emerged after a partnership with Nokia in 2011, in which the company produced smartphones using Windows platform for phones. It supported Bing search.

The document describing the foldable device says it might not be a phone or tablet, but just a patent on the way the device folds without creasing the content. The document describes a method to fold together the layers.

It could just be that Microsoft believes it’s time to relaunch a similar product to the Duo with a phone integrated with Copilot.

Inventors at Microsoft in a U.S. patent describe a “foldable display device,” but it looks very much like a mobile phone.