This is Microsoft’s canceled Andromeda OS running on a Lumia 950

Ever wondered what Microsoft's canceled version of Windows for the Surface Duo was going to be like? Well wonder no more, as we've got a first hands-on look at a pre-release build from mid-2018 running on a Lumia 950. We've already shown you what Andromeda OS looked like in recreated mockups, so now it's time to see the real thing running on video.

The idea of using a blank canvas for writing as the homescreen is fascinating, but it's definitely not the first time this has been tried. In fact, one sure way to ensure your mobile platform will fail, is to build it around the notepad interface. It didn't work for PenPoint OS, it didn't work for Apple's Newton, and it didn't work for any other attempts either.

People simply do not want to do handwriting on a computer. It's been tried over and over, and people just don't like it. The only platform which has been able to sort of make handwriting work is Palm OS, but that's a misnomer since Palm's Graffiti was a standardised character set you had to learn - it didn't recognise handwriting at all.