New Microsoft Patents Suggest Possible Surface Phone Features

By Ela Teodosio, Christian Post Contributor Saturday, February 03, 2018

A newly discovered Microsoft patent hints at the long-rumored Surface Phone, or at least a next-generation Surface device.

According to Let's Go Digital, Microsoft filed a patent for an upgraded standard of Near-Field Communication (NFC), which makes it difficult for eavesdroppers to tap into exchanges between two devices. This type of radio communication works only between devices that are in very close proximity, just like Bluetooth and WiFi.

What the tech giant applied for, however, is much stricter. The Secure Near-Field Communication (SNFC) encodes all transmitted data with a hidden key, which could only be decoded by the intended recipient's device. This hidden key is usually a random set of codes, used once and then discarded, so that a third party will not have a chance to use it later on.

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The report said the patent was filed back in January 2017 and published on Jan. 30, 2018.

There is, if course, no confirmation that this would be a part of the highly rumored Surface Phone, or if that device would materialize at all.

According to Digital Trends though, Microsoft also recently filed another patent that has been the topic of many Surface Phone rumors in the past — a live hinge.

The hinge works three ways. It allows one of the screens to be folded back, possibly even all the way — depending on the configuration — when only half of the device is needed. It could also be folded close together when not in use.

As a live hinge, it also allows the two screens to be seamlessly opened flat side-by-side like a tablet, with very little indication that there is a connector in the middle.

In the patent, Microsoft described the hinge's use as a "multi-part device," with reference to the limitations of single-screen mobile units.

"Mobile phone displays have increased in size to the point where they can now consume almost an entire front surface of a phone," the patent reads. "In some cases, further increases in display size would detract from other capabilities of the devices, such as its pocket-size form factor."

This new patent only confirms what has long been rumored, that Microsoft is working on something specific, like a foldable Surface Phone.