The project is well presented, but I’ve hesitated to weigh in because I feel like it doesn’t push any boundaries. Before you read any of this, please know that I respect the amount of work you did here. The quality of execution is very high. What I’m going to be critiquing here digs down a layer below the execution, below the features, and in some cases below the core idea to why would Microsoft make this and why would it be successful as a tool for an average citizen.
Presentation: feels very Apple. Is that what the Microsoft brand is? I think the brand deserves a unique POV, and with this level of execution, that core POV should inform everything down to the visual communication strategy. Don’t think of it as style, think of it as a way of further communicating the core idea.
IxD: In terms of interactions, it is a nice collection of pre-existing thoughts wrapped up into one device, but I can’t help but think “what else”. Is this really pushing the boundaries of what the mobile device can do for the average citizen? All that advanced tech and we are seeing current windows mobile tiles? I think the ecosystem of a user’s devices and the the peer to peer ecosystem of the many could be pushed a bit more.
Industrial Design: It is nice, well executed, but expected. It feels a bit like an iPhone that got pulled out of the CNC before it started machining the radii. Is this honestly better than some of the Nokia Lumia Windows Mobile phones? (some of the best ID in mobile phones ever and made from much more mobile appropriate materials). There is so much tech in the camera array but it feels like an engineering appendage vs a design statement. You should be doing the ID for the ecosystem at this level. Stylus, tablet, HoloLens, the whole system, in my opinion. Renders are a little low res.
OK, so if you made it this far, I know I just offered some serious, and maybe hard to read, critique. But I want to make sure that you understand that the only reason why I feel like going to this level of critique is that your execution is so good, and clearly you have done a lot of information gathering. These are things I would point out in an interview to test your responses. If you got defensive then I’d probably move on to another candidate. If you listened, and even riffed off the comments with possible solutions and iterations, I’d be interested.