Microsoft Surface Duo to Get Android Updates for 3 Years
Aug. 14, 2020Havingunveileditsmuch-anticipated but painfully-delayeddual-screen smartphone, theSurface Duo, earlier this week, Microsoft has now announced thatthe device will receive 3 years of Android OS and security updates. In a statement toAndroid Authorityconfirming its plans, the company said that it will support the new device“with OS and security updates for three years”.
The Surface Duo is Microsoft’s first full-fledged Android smartphone that was originally envisioned as a Windows-powered deviceunder the codename ‘Andromeda’before Microsoft ditched its in-house operating system in favor of Android. The company, of course, had dabbled in Android before with the launch of the Nokia Asha devices earlier in the decade, but those failed to gain any traction, largely because they ran a forked version of Android without Play Store support.
As for Microsoft’s 3-year update plan for the Surface Duo, it is certainly a welcome move. It followsSamsung’s recent commitmentto roll out three years of Android updates to its own flagship Android smartphones, including some of the more recent Galaxy S-series and Galaxy Note-series devices. While Android updates remain a problem across the board, the announcements from these two companies will hopefully trigger similar commitments from other Android vendors.
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