14 DAY TRIAL // Surface Duo is Microsoft’s very first Android smartphone, and despite coming with a rather new form factor, the company has decided to keep it exclusive to the United States.
People familiar with the matter said the Surface Duo more or less plays the role of a testing model supposed to help Microsoft figure out if its Android phones could eventually go live in other markets.
In other words, the software giant just wants to see how everything is going in the Android world and only then go global with its phones. This kind of makes sense given Microsoft is a new player in this industry, so playing the safe card is probably the right approach.
As far as the Surface Duo is concerned, several reports have indicated that Microsoft could eventually bring the device to international markets in the spring of 2021.
However, it was believed a decision was expected early next year, as the company just wanted to collect more feedback on the U.S. launch of this device.
Coming to Germany soon
But according to a recent report from German site WindowsArea, Microsoft has already decided where the Surface Duo would go live next.
It’s Germany, a country supposed to get the Surface Duo in the next spring, though right now, it’s not clear if Microsoft wants to bring the device to other European markets too. There’s a chance this will indeed be the approach the company would be using, as previously, every time Germany received a new Surface product, the same device also went live in other countries like France, Italy, and Spain.
For now, however, we’re still filing this as a rumor, so you’d better not hold your breath for the Surface Duo if you live in Europe. Of course, there are other ways to get the Surface Duo right now from the U.S., only that the whole thing costs more than you might want to spend on an Android phone.