We’ve seeing many Microsoft patents about the company’s rumored Andromeda foldable mobile device, but the company is apparently making some good progress on its bigger sibling codenamed “Centauraus.” We first heard about Centaurus late last year, but The Verge is reporting today that Microsoft recently showed its larger dual-screen device to its devices team at a recent internal event.
According to the report, Microsoft revealing the Centaurus prototype this early in front of select employees is “highly unusual.” However, the move is certainly a big vote of confidence for a device that may launch within the next six months, the report says. That’s in line with previous reports suggesting that Centaurus may launch before the end of 2019.
Centaurus could be the first device to launch with Windows Lite, a new lightweight OS from Microsoft designed for Chromebook-like devices and dual-screen laptops. Last week, the Redmond giant hinted at Windows Lite in a Computex blog post mentioning a “modern OS” designed for the PCs of tomorrow. This modern would be all about seamless background updates, security by default, and sustained performance over time, and always-on connectivity.
Centaurus isn’t the only thing Microsoft showcased at this recent all hands event according to the report. Project xCloud, Microsoft’s new game streaming service was also demoed ahead of the first public trials coming later this year. Interestingly, the company also showed revealed Microsoft Teams “for life,” a variation of its team collaboration app focused on interactions with friends and family. “Microsoft is experimenting with features like sending location, shared family calendars, and document sharing,” the report said. This all sound like something Skype could be better at, but Microsoft wants Teams to grow even bigger following the launch of a free tier last year.
