The Microsoft Surface Duo is just now getting Android 11
Oh, theSurface Duo. Microsoft’s first attempt at making an Android phone had a few issues, but it was nonetheless an exciting dual-screen concept with big multitasking promises. Bugs and high price tag aside, one specific woe had buyers on edge for a good chunk of last year: The lack of an Android 11 update. Despite the fact that Android 12 was released in 2021, and the Surface Duo 2 launched with Android 11, users of the original model don’t have the new (now old) software yet. Aftermissing its first promise last yearand falling back on theol' reliable “coming weeks,“Android 12 is finally starting to land on the original Microsoft Surface Duo.
The update (version number 2021.1027.156) iscurrently rolling outto unlocked Surface Duo users in North America and Europe, while the AT&T version is pending carrier validation and will roll out at a later date. The update includes Android 11 and the latest January 2022 security patch, as well as a bunch of improvements and customizations for things like multitasking, folding actions, and features for Microsoft’s built-in apps.
The full changelog is just below:
Some of us had hoped that Microsoft would do right by its customers and the Duo, keeping its phones better updated than other hardware-first Android companies might. After all, Microsoft is literally a software company; its best-known product is Windows. And, at $1,400, the Duo was also very expensive (a price that it never justified in our eyes,given its many issues and rampant software bugs). Sadly, neither price nor its own software history seems to have encouraged Microsoft to be timely about updates.
The Microsoft Duo’s Android 11 update is currently rolling out over-the-air, and if you don’t see it on your phone yet, be on the lookout over the next few weeks.
Now, the wait begins for Android 12/12L.Oof.
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