New Windows Mobile device being prototyped by Microsoft, likely AR/VR focussed

Microsoft could indeed be working on the next evolution of Windows 10 on mobile. Microsoft watcher and journalist Brad Sams claims in his latest podcast that he has got two independent sources within the company attesting to the presence of a prototype Windows Mobile handset that is fairly different from the conventional smartphone we know today. Sams says the device runs on an 'ARM64 chipset' and the Windows 10 version on the handset is powered by Microsoft's new adaptable shell, the CShell. The interesting part of Sams revelation is that the new device is being spearheaded by Alex Kipman (inventor of the HoloLens) and not by Panos Panay (in-charge of the Surface family of devices). This leads one to assume that the new device could have a heavy focus on augmented reality and virtual reality.

Windows 10 has native support for Mixed Reality and this device could be Microsoft's answer to Google's Project Tango and Apple's upcoming ARKit. CShell could unify the desktop and mobile shells paving way for an even more unified codebase and user interface. There's also a high possibility that Windows-on-ARM could lead to the development of 'cellular PCs' by Microsoft or its OEM partners that can run full Windows and also have telephony.

There has never been a dearth of news citing possible new Windows 10 Mobile devices ever since the company ceded the highly competitive smartphone landscape to Android and iOS. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, hinted earlier of his ambition of building the "ultimate mobile device". Some of the recent patents filed by Microsoft also point to the return of a Courier-like device that could have a foldable screen. Of course, this being just insider info, there is a likely chance that the prototype might not even see the light of the day — similar to some noteworthy stuff in the past.