Microsoft could bring back its dual-screen Courier tablet concept

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Microsoft never delivered on its Courier tablet concept that was rumored a decade ago, but there’s great news for fans of the idea.

The Verge reports that Microsoft recently showed off a new dual-screen tablet design in an internal hardware meeting.

The new device would fit into Microsoft’s long-running Surface family of tablets and laptops, and reportedly has the codename “Centaurus.” According to The Verge, Centaurus bears more than a passing resemblance to Courier.

Those who have followed Microsoft’s hardware division for a while might remember Courier. Rumors of Courier started swirling around in the latter part of last decade before Microsoft cancelled it in 2010. 

The idea was, admittedly, kind of cool. Unlike the then-new iPad, Courier would have had two screens next to each other and could be opened and closed like a notebook. Elements could be swiped from one screen to another, too.

Instead, tablets have pretty much stayed one-screen devices in the decade since.

The Centaurus project was first revealed by Windows Central last year and seems to have taken priority over the similar, previously rumored Andromeda device. Unlike Centaurus, Andromeda was to be a smaller phone-like device. Microsoft, however, seems more interested in the tablet form-factor for now.

One of the more interesting nuggets in The Verge’s report is that Centaurus would pioneer Microsoft’s new Windows Lite operating system. Windows Lite is said to be a diet version of Windows meant for tablets and laptops, and The Verge previously reported its existence in March.

If Microsoft does indeed invoke the Courier concept in a new Surface device, that could add an interesting wrinkle to the tablet market. Whether or not the world actually needs a computerized notebook that costs hundreds of dollars, it would at least be different. And while it’s not necessarily the same thing, Samsung’s Galaxy Fold phone demonstrated that the tech world is indeed messing around with quirky new form factors for existing products.