Windows Central teamed up with a developer to get Andromeda OS working on a Lumia 950 smartphone. Andromeda was intended as an operating system for dual-screen devices such as the Surface Duo, but was canceled in 2018.
The build of Andromeda OS is very similar to a modified variant of Windows 10 Mobile; the lockscreen, start menu, and app list match almost entirely with that mobile operating system. It’s not clear whether the final version would have kept this design as Windows Central emphasizes that the build they’re showing is a “raw”, pre-release version with missing features and an unfinished interface.
One of the most notable aspects of Andromeda OS is the ability to write on the lockscreen. For example, without having to unlock the phone, users could have left notes on the screen that the smartphone would then save. These notes were later accessible again. For this, the smartphone works together with the Surface Pen. In addition, the writing also worked on the home screen of the phone, where users could add notes, pictures and 3D objects.
The Write function on Andromeda OS, source: Windows Central
The canceled operating system also worked with gestures, so that the Start and Cortana buttons at the bottom of the screen would disappear when an app was launched. To navigate back to the home screen, users had to swipe right from the left. To use Cortana, users had to swipe from right to left. The notifications were also visible in this Cortana screen. The smart assistant should have acted as an ‘administrator’ of all notifications in Andromeda, Windows Central writes.
A swipe from top to bottom should have opened the Control Center, where things like Wi-Fi, brightness, volume, and music playback could be managed. The UI in this screen seems to indicate that Microsoft wanted to use Windows 10’s Fluent Design design in Andromeda OS, according to the medium. Microsoft also experimented with a Radial UX Menu, a selection of buttons so that users didn’t have to swipe to see notifications, for example.
Andromeda OS, source: Windows Central
Andromeda was based on Windows and was intended as an operating system for ‘pocket PCs with calling functions’. The Surface Duo, a device seen as a smartphone, was initially supposed to get Andromeda. Eventually the device got Android. Windows Central worked for the build with Gustave Monce, who writes on Twitter that the smartphone anything but stable and often reboots. Although Microsoft did not plan to release a Lumia 950 with Andromeda OS, this smartphone was used internally to test the operating system. As a result, there are images of Andromeda for the Lumia 950 and Windows Central managed to get the operating system working.