Think about the current state of technology and areas Microsoft is working on: Microsoft showed full desktop version of Windows 10 that runs on ARM processors; they made Mixed Reality shell for Windows 10; They are working with Dell, HP, Acer, Asus, and Lenovo on Mixed Reality (MR) headsets that use inside-out tracking taken from Microsoft HoloLens and which does not require external cameras or lighthouses for tracking; There are some hints that they will be working on “different type” of a smartphone; and they already have Continuum that lets us use a phone as a small desktop computers by connecting it to a monitor… all kind of fits together?
…so what if the next Windows Phone is a powerful mini-computer that we will use to plug-in one of those Mixed Reality headsets and have full desktop environment wherever we are? Microsoft also has game streaming of Xbox games to any Windows 10 PC without a lag that already works… so why not stream directly to a Windows 10 phone which shows the game (or program) in MR headset? The specs for PC to stream to are low: 1.5 GHz CPU and 2 GB of RAM are enough… is a phone enough then?
The huge advantage of that system, over a pop-in smartphone VR like Google Daydream is being a “real” computer, which runs desktop programs. So it is useful and worth the time of putting the headset on, but in addition there is no unnecessary weight from the battery and other phone components on my nose, no potential lithium fire hazard 3 cm from my eyes, and it is something I could plug into a desktop computer when I get home. Life-cycle of a smartphones are about year and a half, but life-cycle of a VR headset should be longer. The connected smartphone can be then used as a mouse (Microsoft Arc like smartphone?), or can be used as 6-DoF controller. Cortana is already on Windows Phone, and integrated in Mixed Reality shell, which is another common point between the two.
World is moving to Cloud and Thin Client computing, Mixed Reality and AI. Upgrading my next computer (or phone) might be as simple as two clicks to purchase more Cloud processing power and the hardware of a Thin Client I am using becomes irrelevant, which makes every upgrade cost advantageous.
Even though this was literally a shower thought, everything here fits perfectly together even the following morning, and I think it is just a matter of time when everything is fused together.
