A patent for a phablet dock filed by Samsung in late 2014 with the US Patent and Trademark Office reveals that the Korean technology giant could come out with an hybrid device made up of an Android phablet (likely to be the Galaxy Note) and a notebook running Windows 10, which acts like a docking station.

The concept of phablet/notebook hybrid devices are not exactly new, as ASUS' PadFone line also merges an Android phablet and tablet. However, unlike ASUS' device, which kept Android and Windows in different silos, Samsung's patent shows two operating systems inside the same device. The images accompanying the patent details show Samsung's phablet running Android by default but, when docked, it switches the laptop's display to Windows. The phablet can be transformed into a touchpad for the laptop, or as a secondary screen running Android at the same time. The notebook uses the smartphone's Wi-Fi connection and also recharges the handset when it is out of power. The phablet dock can also support other operating systems and the hybrid could also run Samsung's own Tizen OS.

Samsung's patent will allow a phablet like the Galaxy Note running Android to switch to Windows once it is connected to the laptop-like dock. Recently, Samsung had partnered with Microsoft that brought the latter's Android apps pre-installed on the Korean company's flagships. The new Galaxy S6 could come with apps like Microsoft's OneNote, OneDrive, Office Mobile and Skype, thus challenging Apple's iPhone and iPad, as well as IBM MobileFirst strategy in the enterprise space.

Since the laptop would be just a shell without the traditional CPU or hard drive, Samsung's notebook-like device would be lighter and slimmer, making the new hybrid device particularly appealing to busy executives and students on the go. The patent does not provide details about the notebook's battery, or ports, and it is also not known when the device will hit store shelves.