It looks like Microsoft is ready to ditch the dual-screen design and join the rest of the industry with a foldable screen for its next Surface phone.
Microsoft’s dual-screen Surface Duo devices haven’t exactly ignited the world with their popularity, and the company seems poised to change gears with the third generation of the product. According to a report by Windows Central’s Zac Bowden, Microsoft has scrapped existing plans to use a dual-screen design for its next Surface phone, replacing it with a foldable screen similar to what’s used on phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.
The decision to ditch the dual-screen design appears to have come quite late in the development stages. Microsoft has already finalized the dual-screen design of what would have been the Surface Duo 3. This device is planned to launch near the end of 2023, but with such a design change, it may be a while before we see the next Surface phone. In fact, there is no targeted launch window for this device yet. It’ll be two years old this year, so it’s going to be a fairly long time without a new Android device from Microsoft.
There isn’t much that is known regarding this device, other than that it is expected to feature a 180-degree hinge with a foldable internal display, along with an external display for more typical smartphone usage. Of course, this design change also raises questions regarding the name of the device, since the Duo branding wouldn’t make sense with a single foldable screen. There will still be two screens, of course, but they won’t be equal and likely won’t be usable at the same time.
Vivo X Fold (centre) with Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 (right) and Oppo Find N (left).
However, there are some more interesting tidbits in this report. First, the fact that Microsoft is considering expanding its Android hardware offerings with more traditional slate smartphones, as well as its upcoming foldable. Since foldable phones are rather expensive and specialized devices, this might be a valuable strategy for Microsoft to attract more customers to its ecosystem of services.
And on that note, Bowden mentioned that Microsoft is also expanding its software efforts to bring its Android and Windows devices closer together. This makes sense, since it was reported back in April that the company was including things like Microsoft Launcher, SwiftKey, and Surface Duo. This initiative is called “Perfect Together” internally, and its goal is to achieve a similar level of seamless integration between Android and Windows as what Apple has with iOS and macOS.
The catch here is that Microsoft isn’t finished with its Android efforts just yet, and there seems to be big news on the horizon. Looks like we have a while to wait before we get to see them.
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