Microsoft Drops Support for the Original Surface Duo

Microsoft’s original Surface Duo, which was released three years ago in September 2020 will no longer receive software updates. It’s not just major Android updates, Microsoft is also done releasing security updates for it as well (via Windows Central).

The Surface Duo originally shipped with Android 10, and it only received two major Android updates, the latest being Android 12L last fall. For a device that was initially priced at $1399, this is definitely not great. In comparison, Apple’s six-year-old iPhone 8 is still getting software updates to this day.

The Surface Duo was Microsoft’s first Android-based dual-screen device, and it never really found its audience. The device was really expensive at launch (though Microsoft quickly discounted it), and it came with a single front-facing camera that was quite lackluster compared to the sensors found on other high-end smartphones.

The software situation on the Surface Duo was also quite problematic from the beginning. The device launched with an outdated version of Android, which wasn’t really optimized for this dual-screen form factor. Microsoft struggled to convince app developers to optimize their apps for the dual-screen device, and this was all quite reminiscent of Microsoft’s previous troubles with developers on Windows Phone.

While the original Surface Duo will continue to work, the lack of security updates going forward isn’t exactly ideal from a security standpoint. The Surface Duo 2, however, will continue to receive software updates until October 2024.

While it remains to be seen if a Surface Duo 3 will ever see the light of day, just remember that Microsoft is usually quick to cancel products that fail to get any traction. The Surface Neo, which was supposed to be a bigger laptop-like version of the Surface Duo, was actually canceled before it even launched.