Android updates are over for the Surface Duo, one of the most different mobile phones in recent years
It can’t be said that Microsoft hasn’t tried with mobile devices. The PDAs of a few years ago had a version of Windows, they bought Nokia to boost their Windows Phone -that it ended how it ended- and in 2020 they moved to Android with a very risky format.
In September three years ago, the Surface Duo was born, an Android mobile with two screens that took a year to arrive in Spain (and only for the business market). Now, Just three years after the launch, the first Microsoft Duo says goodbye to updates.
1,549 euros was what the first Surface Duo cost in its day 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. The device had mixed opinions from the beginning, but at a time when folding mobile phones did not generate much confidence, Microsoft wanted to score the goal of a mobile phone that could become a tablet.
The first Microsoft Surface Duo couldn’t be more ambitious: It had two 5.6-inch AMOLED screens each separated by a hinge. That is, it was not a flexible panel, but two conventional screens.
We could use the device as a tablet or a mobile phone with two separate desktops, but also on a desktop with a keyboard on the part that rests on the surface and even completely rotate the hinge to use it as a conventional mobile phone.
It was a good idea, but Snapdragon 855 couldn’t handle the Android implementation that Microsoft wanted to carry out and, between that and the lack of optimization, the device passed practically without pain or glory.
Just when the first generation was launched in Spain, Microsoft announced the renewal in the form of a Microsoft Surface Duo 2 that improved all the features of the previous one, but maintained the concept of the double screen.
With the number of devices that are launched each month, and the sales of Microsoft’s mobile phone, it is understandable that you do not remember it, but if for some reason you have it, you should know that Yesterday, September 10, official support from the manufacturer ended.
As can be seen in the official website, Microsoft proposed three years of updates for both Android and security patches, ending the period on September 10. Launched with Android 10, the Surface Duo was updated to Android 11 and will forever stay with Android 12L.
The Surface Duo 2 also has those three years of updates, so on October 21, 2024 the tap will be closed. This, obviously, does not mean that if you have a Surface Duo, your device has just become a paperweight. The applications will continue to be updated, but you will not receive more versions of Android – officially, at least – or security patches.
