Microsoft's $1,400 Surface Duo fell to $409 and got two late Android updates

Microsoft unveiled the Surface Duo in October 2019 but did not ship it until September 2020, at $1,400. Ars Technica wrote that reviews were mostly negative: Android could not make use of the 4:3 dual displays, typing was difficult without a split keyboard, and software bugs made it, in the writer's words, 'the buggiest device in recent memory'.

Prices fell fast: $200 off a month after launch, then 50% off to $699, and eventually 70% off to $409. A second model was made, and its support ends in October 2024; Ars reported that a third in this form factor did not look likely.

The Duo 1 launched on Android 10 when Android 11 already existed, got Android 11 sixteen months after launch in January 2022 and Android 12L in October 2022, when 12L was a year old. That plus monthly security patches counted as Microsoft's 'three years of updates'. Ars called it the worst update plan for any premium Android phone and noted that the device never ran a current version of Android.

Price cut from $1,400 to $409 (70% off); only two major Android updates, both more than a year behind the current version.

Microsoft shipped a $1,400 device with Android that was not designed to use two 4:3 screens, and with significant software bugs.

Ars noted it had written its own UEFI from scratch when the product was meant to be a Windows device, and the pivot to Android probably caused many problems.

Android development was outsourced and was brought in-house by an acquisition only two months before the ship date.

Microsoft promised 'three years' of updates without committing to a number of major OS updates, then delivered two, each about a year late.

A premium device sold on a dual-screen idea needs a software plan to match its price. A late OS update schedule removes the reason to buy a premium phone.

Microsoft ended support for the Surface Duo 1 in September 2023. Windows Central spotted the notice first, per Ars Technica. The review is an opinion piece; it gives no sales figures for the device.