Microsoft files patent for smartphone with multiple operating systems

Microsoft has applied for a patent for a technology intended to provide smartphones with multiple operating systems. The user must then choose which operating system should actually be installed on the device.

The patent application in question has been filed with the American patent office USPTO, WM Poweruser discovered. It has been assigned number US20150277929 and the application was filed as early as March 2014. The patent application describes a technique intended for smartphones preloaded with multiple operating systems. At the first startup, users are presented with a selection screen where they can indicate which OS they prefer. Then the system chooses the corresponding installation file, which is already present on the smartphone in the form of a compressed file on a special partition.

To handle multiple operating systems, the technology designed by Microsoft includes a way to prepare the smartphone in various ways before calling the installation file. After installation, the partition containing the installation files for the different OSs is deleted, although it is also possible to choose to keep it. In that case, the selection of the operating system could be repeated again, for example when resetting the smartphone.

Microsoft would have considered some time ago to release a smartphone that is equipped with multiple operating systems. Such a device should be released in collaboration with HTC and equipped with Windows Phone and Android. However, this smartphone was never released.

It is unclear whether Microsoft now has concrete plans to release a smartphone with multiple operating systems. Although patent applications show the interests of companies, they are not always translated into products.