Back in mid-2013, Samsung announced the Ativ Q, a laptop designed to offer both a Windows 8 installation and an Android installation on the same hardware. Several patent conflicts wiped the Ativ Q off the map, but everything suggests the Korean giant never fully abandoned that idea. A new patent shows us what a hybrid between a phablet with Android “and” Windows and a dock that turns it into a laptop could look like.
Almost a year has passed since Asus revealed its Transformer Book V, a fusion of computer, tablet, and smartphone with five usage modes and two operating systems, but we are still waiting for its market debut. All hybrid offerings to date have proven very flexible, yet their apparent failure could be directly linked to practical issues. Microsoft had to run a monstrous advertising machine to convince the public that its Surface line is an acceptable hybrid between tablet and computer. At the end of the day, there is something odd about connecting the smartphone to a tablet body, only to then place that into a specialized dock with keyboard and trackpad. Maybe users feel more comfortable keeping everything separate, or perhaps we haven't yet seen the right product.
The Patent
This brings us to patent 20150138094, awarded to Samsung on May 21. The text describes an electronic device accompanied by a docking station, but a quick look at the main image reveals it's a phablet-computer hybrid. Both general processing and operating system execution would be handled by the hardware in the phablet, switching from one OS to another depending on the usage mode. Notice I said “operating systems” in plural, and frankly, that's one of the keys to any hybrid. The patent text imposes no hard limit on the type of OS, but it's assumed the phablet will run Android when out of the dock, and Windows 10 when transformed into a laptop.
Considering Windows 10's ability to work in different form factors and adapt its interface, Samsung's plan isn't far-fetched. Some specialized media have speculated about a theoretical alliance between Samsung and Microsoft (after all, the new Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge come with Redmond's apps preinstalled), and the possibility that “the other” operating system be Tizen, currently limited to smartwatches and a handful of smartphones. Too soon to know, but even if the love for hybrids isn't great, it's worth watching Samsung's next moves in the mobile space.
