![]() This decision could influence other aspects of the handset and perhaps even facilitate a name change.įoldable display durability leaves a lot to be desired but there's no arguing that the tech is flashier than two separate slabs. ![]() What's more, we don't know if Microsoft is planning to simulate a dual-screen experience with software or take a more traditional route with its UI. Windows Central sources did not share specifications for the new foldable device. After the Surface Duo 2 launched in late 2021 to a lukewarm reception, however, Microsoft reportedly went back to the drawing board. Microsoft apparently had a dual-screen design lined up for what would have become the Surface Duo 3 due out at the end of 2023, complete with an edge-to-edge display, wireless charging and more. Sources familiar with the company's plans told Windows Central that after a year of experimenting and prototyping, Microsoft has decided to switch to a more traditional foldable display design with a 180-degree hinge and an external cover display. The story of Surface Duo will likely be that of a curiosity, not the revolutionary device I believe it could have been.In brief: Microsoft's next Surface Duo will not be a true dual-screen device like previous efforts, at least if the latest rumblings from the rumor mill prove accurate. It would be very hard for me to imagine a third option - one where Microsoft succeeds with Duo 3 and stands as real competition for the onslaught of more mature and more established foldables which are certainly coming. Microsoft either bet on the wrong horse and was too slow to realize it, or they lacked the fortitude to put their full weight behind the dual screen concept, halfheartedly trudging it forward only to quit halfway. I think there are two ways to look at this situation. The community has gone from a simmer-approaching-boil to a pot with the eye turned off. There hasn't been a new one in over a year and the next might still be months away. Moreover, that long delay has left users with little to be excited for in regard to Surface Duo. My Duo videos are also beginning to slip in their popularity with Pixel Fold and Z Fold videos picking up significantly. Who will hold off to wait for Duo 3? A recent poll I ran on my own channel, which was based largely on Surface Duo users indicates that many are prepared to jump ship in the near future. Pivoting so late in the game, effectively starting over at the 11th hour appears to be leading to a launch that will happen after all their now direct competitors have released their devices. When Duo launched there was only the Z Fold, but by the time Duo 3 arrives, the US will have seen launched by OnePlus and Google with Duo 3 likely last to the party. Perhaps an even bigger obstacle is the emergence of several new competitors into the folding phone space. There may be no way for Microsoft to carry their niche Duo fanbase along with them as they try to enter the mass market. How many of us will make the move to a Duo 3 that abandons the design we were attracted to in the first place?Īs Microsoft leaves behind two screens users may also feel like Microsoft is leaving them behind as they target the mass market with a more typical device. The first thing to consider is the effect it will have on those of us who already bought a Duo or Duo 2 *because* it was dual screens. What are the ramifications of making this call so late in the game? Obviously, time will tell, but we can speculate. This means that the decision to pivot towards a single folding OLED screen is as recent as 2021 or even 2022, depending on who you ask. ![]() Word is there was not only a nearly complete Duo 2 Go with dual screens, but also a Duo 3 concept which preserved the feature. What's worse is that the abandonment of the idea isn't even that distant. ![]() And yet, only a few years later the concept is fully in the rearview mirror. At one point Microsoft believed so fully in mobile dual monitors that they planned to launch a laptop style device Neo. Now, as it appears that Microsoft is abandoning the dual screen concept altogether with the Surface Duo 3 I am pondering the road taken and where it will lead. ![]()
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