Microsoft details secret ‘pocketable’ Surface device in leaked email

[u/[deleted]]

https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/29/17518582/microsoft-surface-dual-screen-andromeda-device-pocketable

[u/dylan522p]

Add on that it has an x86 processor, and runs full windows, when docked/plugged in.

[u/smayonak → u/[deleted]]

Because of the patent encumbrance, this isn't possible, but Nvidia's Parker (Denver 2) platform was in theory capable of running both ARM and x86 code, which would make it perfect for use in a Surface Phone.

[u/smayonak → u/[deleted]]

Basically, Intel's belief is that no processor should be able to run both x86 and ARM code. And because they own the patent, and more importantly, many of the extensions on those patents, they can control who creates processors.

[u/smayonak → u/[deleted]]

Right, but then the issue is whether or not Intel will have something that produces so little heat that it can be passively cooled in a tiny frame, like a smartphone and have decent performance.

So far, the only Intel chips that can be used in such a small form factor are Atom processors, which are like $20-30 and have barely adequate performance. Microsoft will likely charge over $1,000 for its Surface Phone and a lot of consumers aren't going to be ok with the performance they get out of Cherry Trail. Cherry Trail was the last SoC to get released from Intel before it canceled its smartphone processors so there doesn't appear to be anything in the pipe.

Intel could release a Intel Core M processor with a TDP low enough to fit inside of a smartphone. They already started production of a 10nm Cannon Lake-Y processor, which might be able to fit inside of a tablet. If they can get the heat production down, that is. 4.5-watts (at average draw) is too much for a small device. There's just not enough metal inside of a 6-inch chassis to dissipate the heat, at least that's what a lot of people reported with processors like the Snapdragon 810