In a blast from the past that has sent shockwaves through the Microsoft enthusiast community, several prototype units of the legendary "Surface Andromeda" – the internal codename for what eventually became the Android-powered Surface Duo – have surfaced on online marketplaces. Crucially, these devices aren't running Android; they're booting into the equally mythical Windows Core OS (WCOS), the modular operating system Microsoft envisioned for dual-screen and foldable devices.
For years, Andromeda existed only in patent filings, tantalizing internal leaks, and the dreams of Windows Phone loyalists. Conceived as a pocketable, dual-screen productivity device running a custom version of Windows, it represented Microsoft's bold vision for the future of mobile computing. However, the project was famously shelved around 2018, with Microsoft later pivoting to launch the Surface Duo and Duo 2 using Android.
The Prototypes Surface
The recent discovery centers on listings primarily appearing on Goofish (a prominent marketplace akin to eBay). Multiple sellers, seemingly unaware of the devices' historical significance or potentially clearing out old inventory, have listed these engineering prototypes. The listings describe them as "Microsoft Test Devices," "Prototype Phones," or "Engineering Samples," often noting cosmetic damage, lack of final branding, or non-functional components typical of pre-production hardware.
- One listing shows a device in a distinctive bright red case, likely used for internal testing or identification: https://www.goofish.com/item?spm=a21ybx.item.itemCnxh.22.28213da6dEuNpm&id=934367406031&categoryId=0#cw
- Another offers a unit with visible serial numbers and test points exposed: https://www.goofish.com/item?spm=a21ybx.item.itemCnxh.2.7dbf3da6mVwPbj&id=935446428837&categoryId=0
- A third listing highlights the dual-screen form factor itself: https://www.goofish.com/item?spm=a21ybx.personal.feeds.136.29f36ac2vFSWIY&id=950268362733&categoryId=50025387
The Windows Core OS Revelation
The truly groundbreaking aspect isn't just the hardware's existence; it's the operating system. Images and descriptions from the listings, corroborated by independent reports, clearly show these prototypes booting into a version of Windows Core OS, specifically an iteration designed for the Andromeda form factor. This is the elusive OS Microsoft developed alongside the hardware – a full Windows experience adapted for a small, dual-screen device, featuring a unique UI for app continuity across screens, gestures, and pen input.
Tech outlet Windows Central managed to acquire images and details from one such prototype, confirming the WCOS boot screen and interface elements distinct from both desktop Windows and Windows Phone: https://www.windowscentral.com/hardware/surface/microsoft-surface-andromeda-prototype-leaked-images-running-windows-phone-core-os
What Could Have Been?
These leaks offer a tangible glimpse into the ambitious path Microsoft abandoned. Seeing Windows Core OS running on the sleek dual-screen hardware starkly contrasts with the final Android-based Surface Duo products. It reignites the "what if?" questions:
- Could a full Windows experience on this form factor have succeeded where Windows Phone struggled?
- Would the app gap have been less of an issue leveraging the existing Win32 and UWP ecosystems?
- How would Microsoft's vision of a truly pocketable Windows PC have evolved?
Collector's Items or Functional Relics?
While fascinating historical artifacts, these prototypes are firmly in the realm of collectors. They are engineering samples, often lacking finalized firmware, cellular radios, or camera functionality, and may be unstable. Running obsolete, unsupported pre-release software, they aren't practical daily drivers. Their value lies in their rarity and their status as physical embodiments of Microsoft's ambitious, unrealized mobile vision.
A Bittersweet Discovery
The emergence of these Andromeda prototypes is thrilling for Microsoft historians and fans. It provides concrete evidence of the project's advanced stage and the significant work poured into both the hardware and the bespoke Windows Core OS variant. However, it also serves as a poignant reminder of a bold mobile strategy that Microsoft ultimately walked away from, leaving behind these intriguing fragments of an alternate Windows-on-mobile future now available, ironically, on the open market. For those seeking the final iteration, the Surface Duo 2 remains available: https://amzn.to/46CYDjO. But for a piece of Microsoft's mobile history, these prototypes are the real, albeit unfinished, deal.
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