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 upcoming Surface Phone.
Microsoft’s dual-screen Surface Duo devices haven’t exactly set the world alight with their popularity, and the company seems poised to shift gears with the third generation of the product. According to a report from Windows Central’s Zac Bowden, Microsoft has scrapped existing plans to use a dual-screen design for its upcoming Surface Phone, replacing it with a foldable screen similar to the one used on phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4.
The decision to abandon 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 expected to launch in late 2023, but with such a design change, it could be a while before we see the next Surface Phone. In fact, there is no targeted launch window for this device yet. It will be two years old this year, so it will be a long time without a new Android device from Microsoft.
Not much is known about 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 use. Of course, this design change also raises questions about the device’s name, 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 the same and probably won’t be usable at the same time.
Vivo X Fold (center) 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 offering with more traditional smartphones, in addition to its upcoming foldable. Since foldable phones are quite expensive and specialized devices, this could be a valuable strategy for Microsoft to attract more customers to its ecosystem of services.
And on that note, Bowden said that Microsoft is also expanding its software efforts to bring its Android and Windows devices closer together. That makes sense, since it was reported in April that the company included things like the Microsoft Launcher, SwiftKey, and Surface Duo. This initiative is internally called “Perfect Together” and its goal is to achieve a level of seamless integration between Android and Windows similar to what Apple has with iOS and macOS.
The problem here is that Microsoft isn’t quite done with its Android efforts, and there seems to be big news on the horizon. It looks like we’ll have to wait a bit before we can see them.
Source:
