It's not secret that I listen to Windows Central's podcast - it's in many ways an equivalent to the discussions that Rafe and I have here on AAWP, except that Daniel Rubino and (Brit) Zac Bowden cover the whole field of Microsoft and not just mobile/phones. A good backgrounder in what's happening in the world of laptops, XBox, etc. Usually. However, in their podcast 96 they exclusively tackle Microsoft's Andromeda device (aka Surface Mobile) and all the reasons why it's not dead or cancelled. A whole hour of Surface Mobile chat, in other words. Worth a listen.

In summary, in case you haven't got an hour, there's simply too much time and effort put into Windows Core OS, the Andromeda project, and yes, patents and R&D in the new folding device. It would be almost impossible for Satya Nadella to cancel all of this. 

Daniel and Zac go into huge detail though, and they're better connected at Microsoft than me, not least because WC is based in the USA, like Microsoft. My gut feel? Surface Mobile is real and I'm still hoping for an October announcement, but it's also possible that the Redstone 5 branches of Windows 10 won't contain enough of what Andromeda needs (two screens, etc.) and that things may have to wait for whatever the first OS branch of 2019 is called. So maybe a CES 2019 unveiling and April 2019 availability?

Interesting stuff. Anyway, on with Daniel and Zac here.

(And yes, I'll collar Rafe soon and also chat about some of this - I've been busy helping out with my dad, who was critically ill, with pneumonia, for the last week or so.)