Microsoft has been said to be revamping its hardware and software offerings on the mobile front for a while now. On the software front, it is expected that the company will enable full Windows 10 to run on mobile devices through its CSHELL adaptive UI shell, while the hardware reboot will likely come courtesy of the long-awaited Surface Phone.
Satya Nadella has previously indicated that the company is working on a phone experience unlike existing devices and, if new Chinese leaks regarding the device are to be believed, the phone is packing some exciting functionality indeed. The source purports that the Surface Phone will support the Surface Pen for inking, feature a top-of-the-line Snapdragon processor, and include a kickstand.
What will set the device apart, however, will be the inclusion of a feature called "Onto Table", which could be a built-in projector that supports Continuum. In practice, this may enable users to enjoy a simulated desktop experience without the need for a dock or a monitor, thereby enabling true desktop productivity from within the phone itself without the need to lug a screen around. While this may be the most exciting possibility, it"s also possible that the feature is simply a reference to wireless projection to a nearby monitor. The Chinese text also suggests that the phone will be able to work in this manner for an hour.
The device will also, incidentally, not be called Surface Phone, as was previously believed, but rather receive a new moniker in the form of Surface Mobile.
There are also reference to Surface Peking and Surface Slavonia, which could be references to multiple devices or even related hardware, such as perhaps a dock or even a Surface Monitor designed to work with the above Onto Table functionality. There are also references to something called Project Andromeda but without confirmation by Microsoft, it"s difficult to know exactly what all these code names are referring to.
The leaks were first spotted by WalkingCat, who has often been the source of reliable Microsoft leaks in the past but, as with all rumours, it"s best to take them with a grain of salt.
Source: WalkingCat (Twitter) via OnMSFT