Microsoft were pioneering the foldable phone trend, then after the Surface Duo 2, silently discontinued the lineup.
Of course it might be its awkward dual screen system, but that wouldn’t be the full story.
Anyone know (and is allowed to disclose) any further details on the demise of the Surface Duo?
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It was not a good phone, and had even worse software. So they discontinued it. I don’t know why they don’t just make a normal phone.
It’s interesting how often Microsoft managed to bring truly innovative products a few years too early to market and then just silently fails.
They had tablets in the early 00s, ARM laptops, folding phones, media centers.
The current CEO doesn’t like anything that doesn’t create subscription revenue. Products like this end up abandoned or canceled.
It’s because being “first” to market only matters if you do the work to cross the bare minimum threshold for people to want your product. If your software is shit (like pretty much everything Microsoft does; their PC share is leaning massively on inertia), you’re not going to create a market. Insufficient hardware can also be an issue, but it’s usually not Microsoft’s.
Was the tablet’s touchscreen as responsive as iPad’s? What was the operating system? If Windows, I can see how it failed. Previous versions of Windows were mouse-and-keyboard-first. I think Windows 8 was the 1st to truly consider touch and iPados was still better.
Microsoft had an Arm Surface device a few years ago. It had a 💩 chip.
It was terribly overpriced for the feature set. It also felt uniquely unpolished software wise.
Call me crazy, but I loved mine (near the end). No crease, could still multitask fine. The fact it folded shut kept me from opening and doom scrolling as much. Could throw a video on one screen and “tent” the phone easily.
But yeah, the software took awhile to get even “okay” out the gate and that really hurt the user experience. I felt I was always wrestling with mine over something for the first 6mos even.
Too wide, incompatible with android somehow, and too expensive. At least per the article.
I see the appeal of a small phone that folds into a bigger phone or small tablet. But a big ass phone that folds into a medium tablet? Seems like a small market for giant-handed people.
I’m still running my Duo 2 as my work phone, it’s fantastic for remote desktop sessions when I just need to restart a service or do quick tasks. The hinge doesn’t crease but you do get a gap in video that’s minorly annoying, but not a deal breaker. It’s great for teams calls with scrolling on 2nd screen for info or referencing material. It’s great for kindle, the book-like structure gives a pleasant feel while reading in two page format.
Unfortunately it isn’t comfortable for phone calls. And having a hard close means opening for texts and teams and quick items does become bothersome and tedious towards the end of the day. And knowing it was killed puts a clock on it and always keeps me looking for a replacement. It will eventually go to the same pile where I put my zune and Microsoft bands.
When it finally dies I’ll probably stay in the foldable format, Pixel or Galaxy. But I’m going to run it as long as I can.
Pretty much DOA due to bad software adaptation and a prohibitive price tag. The marketing department also missed the massive opportunity to market this as a DS emulator (likely due to concern over Nintendo lawsuits).
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