7/14/2023 0 Comments Surface phone![]() ![]() I say this as staunch fan of the Surface Duo, but Instead of sinking more R&D into perfecting foldable OLED displays to ultimately put out a sixth or seventh me-too device in a Surface Duo 3, Microsoft should invest that time and effort into the Microsoft Launcher and relaunching it as paid app that bridges the Windows OS aesthetic and feature set closer to that of Android. There are over 50 million downloads of the Microsoft Launcher and another 10 million of SwiftKey listed in the Google Play Store, if just a fraction of those downloads came at a price, Microsoft might make more in revenue than it did over the past three years with the Surface Duo alone. ![]() Both software and price are two places an investment in the Microsoft Launcher could net the company some revenue wins in mobile that it hasn’t been able to replicate in close to a decade. I won’t rehash all of the shortcomings Microsoft will have to overcome to even make a viable product next year, but in 2024, even if Microsoft manages to deliver a piece of hardware, its only differentiating benefits will be in software and price. With Microsoft’s rumored pivot to a single-screen foldable as well as a possible slab-style traditional smartphone option, the Surface mobile effort makes even less sense in 2024 than it did in 2019. While I enjoy the sleek design acumen of the Surface team in most of their hardware efforts, there is nothing inherent to Microsoft’s business that needs to offer a Surface branded smartphone or mobile device in 2024, especially if it’s running Android. Which is why I’m ready for Microsoft to shelve the whole Surface Duo project and focus its efforts on the Microsoft Launcher in 2024. The reasons for the deterioration of the Microsoft/Google partnership in mobile haven’t been made clear at this point, but couple struggling with the sole platform provider for your device as well as sidelining your own software development teams and the Surface Duo project is looking less and less likely as evolving third attempt from the company and more like a baggage-filled restart. In addition to waiting on an updated piece of hardware from the Surface Duo team, it looks like customers will have to wait on software as well, with the company giving no commitment or even an indication that Android 14 will come to devices in 2023, leaving many to believe Microsoft may simply wait to release Android 14 with a new device at the end of 2024.īeyond its logistical failings, it looks like Microsoft couldn’t hold their highly touted partnership with Google together, as the relationship frayed enough to clog the publishing pipes for Android 12 and 13 to Duo devices according to Bowden. That’s why Android 12L launched in October and has received pretty much no fixes or improvements since. ![]() Previously, OEMs built their own software for these devices and licensed the Teams integration, but now, Microsoft has full control of the OS from the ground up.įor whatever reason, Microsoft considers this effort more important than supporting the Surface Duo with new features and bug fixes, so work on Android for Surface Duo has slowed while the team focused on Teams Rooms on Android. ![]() Teams Rooms on Android is Microsoft’s attempt at becoming an AOSP vendor for device makers building Teams-powered conferencing devices like desk phones. Furthermore, Microsoft may be holding on addressing long standing issues with the last big update to the devices with Android 12. Seemingly as a result of the prioritization shuffle Microsoft Duo and Duo 2 owners are now left with simply getting late security updates, if at all. In Bowden’s latest update on the state of Surface Duo, he posts that not only has the teams working on the Duo been cut but they’ve also deprioritized development on the device to split time making Teams Rooms on Android a success. ![]()
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