Emperion Nebulus: ARM-based smartphone running Windows 10 with Android apps compatibility

During the 2019 Surface Event, Microsoft shook the tech industry when it announced the Surface Duo. It was a dual-screen smartphone that surprisingly ran on Android instead. While the tech industry knows that the Windows Phone OS was officially dead and all existing devices that still have it have reached end-of-life support last year. It seems that there are no plans for a follow-up mobile phone operating system, but the Emperion Nebulus seeks to break new ground. The handset promised Windows 10 on an ARM-based platform that will run Android apps.

These are indeed bold claims as tech industry experts see it, but it seems the company is serious about its plans. While Windows 10 operating systems on ARM-based devices is nothing new, the Nebulus would be the first of its kind that offers the experience with telecommunication features. The project appears to be still in the early stages and Emperion was kind enough to supply a render of what the final product might look like aesthetically.

Windows Central was able to gather more details about the upcoming smartphone with the help of Windows On ARM advocate and developer Jeremy Sinclair. The handset will be using the operating system with a custom UI running on an overclocked Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset. "Microsoft has been instrumental in helping us put the Nebulus together and they've been a great help," stated Emperion.

Even though ARM-based machines on Windows 10 can use the integrated modem for mobile data connectivity, the operating system does not natively support telephony functionality. Therefore, the manufacturer might need to develop a workaround that enables it in a user-friendly manner. Meanwhile, getting Android apps to run on Microsoft's operating system is possible, which will make the Emperion Nebulus a unique smartphone.

The specifications listed show a 6.19-inch Cosmos display, forward-firing speakers with Dolby audio enhancement, a 128 GB internal storage, a 10-megapixel secondary camera, and two 13-megapixel AI cameras on the back. Ultimately, everything will be powered by a massive 6,000 mAh battery.

We've included the ability to use Android apps from within windows without an emulator or having to switch between operating systems," a company representative specified. For now, there are no plans to develop more than one model. The Emperion Nebulus allows users to switch to a desktop mode via a USB Type-C cable or wireless akin to Windows Continuum in the past. The smartphone will be a single-SIM unit with expandable storage through a microSD card slot.