It has long been rumored that Microsoft will extend its current Suface technology with the launch of the Surface Phone. The Redmond-based tech giant has not yet confirmed that a brand news Windows handset in underway, but given the success of the Surface collection that includes the Surface Pro and Surface Book, there is a good chance that the Surface Phone will also see the light of day. If the latest patent leak is any indication, the device might appear sooner rather than later with a special magnetic block locking.

Even as Microsoft already announced that it would stop supporting its current Windows 10 phones, it is speculated that the Surface Phone will be the company's next prized handset. Supporting the rumor of the Surface Phone's imminent launch is a leaked patent that shows the upcoming gizmo's foldable nature. The Surface Phone, which is also commonly referred to as the Andromeda, is revealed to make use of a special magnetic lock mechanism that will allow it to change into different forms. With this magnetic lock, the Surface Phone can serve more than one function, aside from being the traditional mobile phone.

To note, the magnetic lock is already incorporatd in laptops and other foldable devices to keep the screen and keyboard panels tightly closed upon folding. In the case of the Surface Phone, the patent leak is still quite vague on how the magnetic lock mechanism will work. Although, it was mentioned that the Surface Phone will have a strong magnetic component linked to a torsion spring, allowing the magnet to rotate around a pivot where the two equal panels of the handset are folded together. The magnetic force that keeps the dual panels locked together will be minimal when the Surface Phone is opened.

The Surface Phone's magnetic lock will give the users an option to rotate the device to a complete 360-degree position, as it is fully opened and the dual display panels are facing outwards. The magnetic lock will also work to make the Surface Phone opened in 0-degree and 180-degree positions.

Earlier patent leaks have also depicted the Surface Phone as a crossover between a smartphone and tablet. For one, another leak suggests that the Surface Phone will have a so-called "determinative hinge" that allows the handset to transform into a mini-laptop, complete with a keyboard and trackpad on the secondary panel.