Microsoft nearly solved folding phones’ worst problem: New patent reveals spring-loaded hinge design for canceled Surface Duo 3

Microsoft's Surface phone efforts are long dead, but a patent newly discovered by Windows Central has revealed that the company has continued to explore the form factor since the Surface Duo line was scrapped in 2023. We already know that a third-generation device was going to pivot to a folding screen, and now we know more about the new hinge that would've accompanied it.

According to this new patent, Microsoft was exploring a "spring-loaded" hinge design that would have made opening the device easier with one hand. A common complaint with folding phones today is that it's difficult to pry open the two halves when closed, whether that be because of the flat edges of the device or the strength of the magnets.

It seems Microsoft was aware of this problem, and engineered a solution that included a button that when pressed, would push open the two halves of the device slightly for you, making it easier to open the device with your fingers or thumbs.

The patent details two potential implementations of this spring-loaded hinge. One design places the spring release buton on the spine of the device, whereas the other places it in the power button. My sources say that some Surface Duo 3 prototypes included a two-stage power button that when pressed all the way, initiated the spring loaded hinge. So it's clear the company was exploring multiple iterations of this design.

The patent application reads:

"One example can include a first portion and a second portion that are rotatably secured through a range of rotation from an open orientation to a closed orientation. This example can also include a selective isolation assembly configured to convert rotational torque associated with rotating the first and second portions toward the closed orientation to a compressive force that compresses a spring. The selective isolation assembly is configured to disconnect the first and second portions and the compressed spring as the first and second portions approach the closed orientation."

Microsoft's pivot to a folding screen design happened in 2022 after the company decided that dual-screen wasn't appealing well to the market. With the pivot, I understand that the company knew that it would need to differentiate a folding screen smartphone from the competition somehow, and the spring-loaded hinge design was one way of doing that.

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I'm told the folding Surface phone was codenamed Neon, and would have been the successor to the Surface Duo 2 had it ever shipped. It was targeting a 2023 or 2024 launch window, but that never happened after the company pulled back on spending and cut the Surface portfolio down to just the bare essentials.

It's hard to tell, but I believe this patent was filed in 2024, so a year after the Surface Duo line was scrapped. This is likely a remnant from before the product line was scrapped, and isn't an indication that the company is once again exploring phones.

With that said, I am still of the belief that an Android-powered Microsoft phone makes a lot of sense, though at this point nobody should give them the chance if they did ever decide to try again. Not after Windows Phone, and not after Surface Duo.

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