[partiallypro]

I'm betting that Microsoft is going to come out with a Surface branded Android phone in the next 2-3 years, and allow Android apps to be entered into the Microsoft Store. Use their leverage in developer tools to make publishing in all 3 stores easy. The groundwork is being laid, but I think they are very much focused on the cloud and catching up to AWS offerings.

[granshaw]

I dunno if the new MS has much appetite for the consumer space TBH. Their strength and main source of revenue is business solutions

[WorldMaker]

I think the new MS realigned with some of the old MS' ideas: the Surface line is meant to lead OEM hardware manufacturers, not to be the sole OEM hardware manufacturer. I don't see the new MS releasing a new phone/phone OS branch without phone hardware manufacturers begging for it. That doesn't seem likely without pressure from phone carriers, and they seem very happy with the Android and Google duopoly as it is easy for them to sell and/or profit from.

[WorldMaker]

Hah, the Freudian slip there of "Android and Google" instead of "Apple and Google" amuses me noticing it days later. It's probably increasingly accurate, too.