Microsoft Surface Andromeda Renders Envision Gaming And Laptop Modes For Dual Screen Portable

Microsoft is in the midst of refreshing its Surface hardware family for 2019, and one of the rumors going around is that the Surface team is working on a dual-screen device codenamed Andromeda. In the wake of these rumors, some unofficial renders have started appearing on the web, showing what Andromeda could possibly look like. The newest batch of renders are particularly intriguing, as they show how the dual-screen gadget could approach both gaming and productivity chores.

David Breyer (@D_Breyer), a "designer at heart," posted the first set of renders last December, saying they were based on the latest patent filings. In a new batch of renders, he depicts the dual-screen gadget being used as a mobile gaming device. The bottom screen is turned into a virtual Xbox One controller, complete with the Xbox logo, analog controls, a D-pad, and of course the A, B, X, and Y buttons.

laptop mode & gaming mode pic.twitter.com/VRD8Z9wKgD

— David Breyer (@D_Breyer) June 30, 2018

The two other renders show the device in laptop mode with a virtual keyboard on the bottom half instead of a game controller. On the top display, Microsoft Word is fired up. There's also a stylus situated nearby. It's an interesting idea, though we're not sure how much fun it would be to type on a virtual keyboard, especially when if you need to hammer out a lengthy, multi-page report rather than just a few lines of text.

Still, color us intrigued. Interestingly enough, Surface boss Panos Panay recently led some credence to the rumors with a clever Twitter post of his own. He tweeted a image of what appeared to be two displays side-by-side in a book-style picture frame format. One of the displays showed a group photo, and the other showed a caricature of himself, which he credited LG Display with making. He also dropped the hashtag #nailedit.

The Twitter post seems to hint that a dual-screen device is in the works. Nothing has been announced, though The Verge claims to have come across some internal documentation referencing a "pocketable" Surface device. The documentation also apparently references a "device form factor that brings together innovative new hardware and software experiences to create a truly personal and versatile computing experiencing," with Microsoft calling it "new and disruptive."

We will have to wait and see, though with Panoy playing it coy on Twitter, an announcement could come sooner than later.