Microsoft has long been rumoured to be working on a Surface Phone, despite the Windows 10 makers never confirming such a device is in the works.
Patents have emerged showing the mysterious device, which is believed to be a Windows 10-powered foldable smartphone.
But the Surface Phone isn’t the only unreleased Microsoft project that fans will be hoping gets a release one day.
Leaked images have revealed that the Redmond-based tech giant were working on their own Xbox smartwatch back in 2013.
The prototype was made by teams that had worked on Xbox accessories and the Kinect sensor.
Prototypes include a 1.5inch display, removable bands and a Xbox logo on the rear of the device.
The pictures, posted on Twitter by user Hikari Calyx and spotted by Windows Central, also show the smartwatch prototype in action.
Pictures show the Xbox Watch in a power-on state, with four different modes in operation.
These features include a ‘Workouts’ mode, ‘GPS’ option, a ‘Settings’ screen and a USB debugger for developers.
The prototype may have been an early predecessor to the Microsoft Band, a smartwatch and fitness tracker that was first released in 2014.
It was succeeded by the Microsoft Band 2, but in October 2016 sales for the line of devices were stopped and the products were discontinued.
The news comes after hopes have been raised that the Redmond-based tech giant will finally lift the lid on the much-rumoured Surface Phone soon.
At the start of the month, a new series of patent applications relating to a possible Surface Phone was published.
The patents are the latest in a long line of designs for the foldable smartphone and tablet hybrid.
The applications focussed on the camera – namely, how Microsoft would fit a thick camera into the body of a thin device.
Previous patents showed the mooted smartphone, which folds in half, would have two sections that are less than six millimetres thick.
The most recent patents were filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The news came after a Microsoft engineer could have confirmed the existence of the Surface Phone by accident.
The Microsoft Asia Research Institute was discussing Cortana support for Android on Zhihu, which is like the Chinese version of Quora.
The engineer said this was due to a lack of permissions on the Android operating system.
However, they said that they were looking forward to the perfect performance of Cortana on the Surface Phone.
The answer was later edited to “but we do not know there will be a Surface Phone”.
The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 is just round the corner, and that might be one place Microsoft choose to unveil the Surface Phone at.
MWC 2018 will kick off on Monday February 26 2018, and Samsung’s highly anticipated Galaxy S9 will be unveiled at the major tech event.
Express.co.uk will be there bringing you all the news from Barcelona as and when it happens.
