- It's time to talk Microsoft Andromeda.
Is it delayed, coming, or canceled?
Today we'll talk about all the news, rumors,
and what we know.
Stay tuned.
(upbeat music)
All right, just recently I was talking about
Project Andromeda, Microsoft's foldable dual-display device.
that is a Surface device.
It is rumored to be coming in the fall,
and that's the last we heard about it,
and since then, there's been a lot of rumors
and more reporting coming out,
specifically from The Verge and Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet.
Now, some of that was saying that
there was internal information regarding this device,
and about how it's gonna be transformed for the company
only to be followed up by Mary Jo, who then reported,
this actually may be delayed or even canceled.
Now to be clear, our sources are not saying canceled.
We have not heard that is the case,
but we've always said that this is
an experimental project for Microsoft,
and like Courier itself, going back to 2011,
it could be canceled at any time.
All right, let's talk about what Mary Jo said
in her article, so specifically that Project Andromeda
and the Andromeda OS may be delayed with RS5,
and may not even come into RS6,
and we don't know the full status of that.
It's kind of funny too, because just days ago
I did see the actual Andromeda OS in action
and it's actually really neat.
It's just like a combination of Windows 10 desktop
with bits of Windows Mobile.
It's really neither/or, but it is familiar
with both of those options, and it looks pretty cool,
but it kinda was rough, and we said that
we don't really know what they could accomplish by the fall,
so who knows, there may be some polish.
And we have heard that, internally, this may be delayed,
and sure, Microsoft could cancel this at any time.
Don't forget, there is a lot of questions around this device
and whether it's needed or not.
Microsoft's mobile ambitions is in question,
and there is that app gap problem that still exists.
It's a real chicken-and-egg situation.
If you don't release a device, you don't get the apps.
If you don't have the apps, you can't sell the device,
so how do you get out of that?
All I can tell you is the longer Microsoft waits here,
the worse the situation is going to get.
So what should Microsoft do with Project Andromeda?
Should they bring it to market or just cancel it,
or shelve it for another few years?
Well, I think there's actually precedents here.
Don't forget, Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella,
it's on him if this device comes to market
and they do a big advertising campaign and it fails,
well, that is on him, so he wants to make sure
that this device is gonna be a success.
And none of us are sure it will be.
There is this question, what is the market for this device?
And it is a little bit weird.
Having said that, I think
what Microsoft can do is pretty simple.
Follow the HoloLens model.
When the HoloLens was announced, there was a $3000 headset,
and they didn't even announce the price at the time.
Not to mention, after it was announced,
it was months before it was actually available,
and even then, it was only open to developers
in small quantities.
Having said that, the market for HoloLens
seems to be a success, at least in what its goals are,
which is getting it into businesses
to test out and develop around it
without taking a big consumer launch risk with it.
And I think they've done that.
Why not do the same here with Andromeda?
Announce the device, that's it's a transformed
of one that they're experimenting with,
release it to developers in small batch quantities,
heck, you could even make it limited edition,
make the first 1000 ones individually numbered,
sell it at a little bit of higher price tag,
I'm sure enthusiasts would buy it,
but get it out there in the market for your power users,
your enthusiasts and your developing base.
From there, see what they say, get feedback.
Do they like it? Is it building steam?
If it is, well, you can start to roll it out
in larger quantities through direct sales
on the website and the Microsoft store.
From there, continue to expand it to,
say, Best Buy or retail.
If, however, it's a terrible device, people don't like it,
they really don't find much use for,
and they're not using it at all,
well, then you just get rid of it,
and there, your problem is solved.
After all, if you explain this to your consumers
that this is an experimental device,
you're willing to try something new,
I think they will understand that.
If, however, Microsoft just wants to launch this
as a giant device and expect it to sell right away,
well, sure, there's a big risk there.
I'm not sure if this thing is $1000 or $1200,
the average Joe is going to buy it, not yet.
That doesn't mean, though, Microsoft should not be trying
to bring this device to market.
I've seen this thing in action.
There's a lot of cool stuff it can do.
The idea of a pocketable digital journal that also,
yes, makes phone calls
or can pair up with your phone and share the SIM,
I think it's actually kind of interesting
and Microsoft can do a lot here with it.
As for what comes next, well, we'll have to wait and see.
I'll just tell you right now,
we haven't heard that it's actually canceled,
and no other sources are reporting that it has been,
so let's just wait to see what happens in the fall.
Maybe we'll hear something around that,
but this is a big project for Microsoft.
I really hope they do bring it to market in some form,
and let its audience actually try it out
and let them decide.
All right, so that's my thought
what they should do with Project Andromeda,
but you tell me what you think they should do.
Should they cancel it, bring it to market, or do what I say?
Leave me a comment below and tell me what you think.
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