Microsoft Cancels Surface Duo 3 Plans, Development Will Shift to More Traditional Foldable Design
In favor of a fully foldable design, Microsoft is said to have abandoned plans for a dual-screen Surface Duo 3. After apparently spending a year testing and tinkering with its current dual-screen design, Windows Central believes that the next Surface Duo will resemble smartphones like the Vivo X Fold or Honor’s Magic Vs.
According to Windows Central, Microsoft has scrapped plans for the Surface Duo 3, a dual-screen tablet that would have had “narrower and taller edge-to-edge screens, wireless charging, and other upgrades.” Before being abandoned, this design was already completed and scheduled for the end of 2023 availability.
Microsoft’s first foldable phone “is still considered a third-generation Duo internally,” according to Windows Central, despite the company having abandoned its initial dual-screen concept. The Surface Duo 3 should seem significantly different from the previous versions, which were extremely huge and difficult to operate with one hand owing to the 4:3 aspect ratio of the panels, with this shift in form factor.
For the Surface Duo, Microsoft initially opposed a genuinely foldable display, preferring glass instead.
It wasn’t difficult for us to realize that taking a screen and folding it wasn’t the right option for this product. We wanted glass. We wanted glass that wouldn’t scratch because we also wanted to give you a pen.”
-Microsoft via The Verge
All of this suggests that a new Surface Duo is unlikely to be released this year, which might mean that it will be more than two years before Microsoft refreshes its Android smartphone. With conflicting reviews upon its October 2021 release, the Surface Duo 2 initially let many customers down. Microsoft could introduce a different kind of Android phone if a new Surface Duo is not released this year. According to Windows Central, Microsoft has been testing with more conventional slab smartphone designs that may be sold more as a Surface phone.
It’s unclear if a genuine Surface phone will ever be released since Microsoft often tries with a variety of hardware ideas that never see the light of day. However, if you’re hoping for a new Surface Duo, it seems like you’ll have to wait a bit.
