Rumor: Upcoming Microsoft Surface dual-screen tablet could support Android apps

According to a new rumor from Jeff Lin, an associate director at IHS Markit (via Forbes), an upcoming Microsoft Surface dual-screen laptop/tablet hybrid could also support Android apps. This rumored functionality would come courtesy of a new version of Windows 10, possibly called “Windows Core OS.”

Lin cites “supply chain info” as the source of this rumor, according to Forbes. Since that sounds pretty shaky, you should take this rumor with some serious skepticism.

That being said, we do know for certain that Microsoft is working on a dual-screen tablet. The company has publicly shown prototype hardware for such a device, which is reportedly codenamed Centaurus, according to The Verge. This product is rumored to be an offshoot of a previous development that could only be described as a Microsoft Surface Mini, in that it was a much smaller, pocketable version of a Surface.

The “mini” product was shelved to make room for the Centaurus project, which sounds like two smaller Surface tablets held together by a mechanical hinge.

While the existence of a dual-screen Surface tablet isn’t too surprising, a new version of Windows that supports Android apps certainly is. Microsoft has been much more open towards Android recently, such as with its Your Phone support, for example. Android emulators are also easy to find online — such as the popular Blue Stacks — so it’s certainly not impossible for Microsoft to bake something like that right into Windows.

However, the Forbes article suggests this dual-screen Microsoft Surface tablet will be a foldable device, akin to the Samsung Galaxy Fold. We don’t have any concrete info to suggest that is the case, so definitely treat all this with a grain of salt.

It certainly would be exciting to buy a Windows laptop/tablet hybrid and use Android apps. A product like that could seriously disrupt the market.

Do you agree? Let us know your opinions in the comments.

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