Microsoft patent reveals "Surface Trio" design

After being lukewarm about the Surface Duo line of devices, it appears Microsoft may be considering a new form factor with three displays instead of two. A patent for such a design has been spotted in United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) filings, giving us an early look at the alleged hardware.

The patent was filed on June 23, 2020 and was first discovered by Patently Apple. Although the document is quite lengthy and somewhat technical, the images it contains (pictured above) speak a thousand words. It's essentially very similar to the Surface Duo, just with the addition of a display.

That said, it does deviate from the Surface Duo in one important way. As Windows Central points out, the hinge is designed and positioned in such a way that it always exposes one display when the device is folded or folded. By contrast, when the Duo folds backwards, it exposes two displays. While you can fold it towards itself, this doesn't expose any of the display. So when it comes to the display panel, you can have it all or have none with the Surface Duo. The patented design solves this "problem".

The patent apparently does not describe the device as a "Surface Trio" but simply as a "multi-panel display device." Excerpts from the document are as follows:

Multi-panel display devices can be used in a variety of different scenarios. For example, multiple software application windows can be displayed simultaneously on different display panels. Multi-panel display devices may use hinges to allow the display panels to fold in different directions (eg, inward/outward). This foldability allows a multi-panel display device to have a larger total display area relative to a similarly portable single display device, while also allowing a smaller folded size relative to a non-folding display device that provides the same display area.

That being said, it’s important to note that this is still just a patent for now. Microsoft may be tinkering with some hardware internally, or it may put it on hold for now. Additionally, little is known about how the software (possibly Android) could be customized to meet the needs of three monitors instead of two.

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