14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is getting ready to start the shipments of the new all-new Surface Duo, the company’s very own Android device that was originally announced in late 2019.
Initially supposed to hit the shelves in the holiday season of this year, the Surface Duo was finalized much faster, so Microsoft decided to bring it to the market much earlier, most likely in an attempt to avoid turning it into an obsolete product.
One of the most criticized tidbits about the Surface Duo is its old-generation processor, as power comes from a Snapdragon 855 chip, a model that was used by Android device makers for their 2019 flagships. And given it launches in 2020 as a premium device, the Surface Duo should have come with the newer generation Snapdragon chip, especially given its hefty price tag.
Nevertheless, the Surface Duo is almost here, and the shipping is projected to kick off next week.
And while the first customers who pre-ordered the device are now eagerly waiting for the Duo to arrive at their doors, more information about Microsoft’s plans for the device reached the web.
Microsoft watcher Zac Bowden revealed that in 2020, the Surface Duo will continue to be a U.S.-exclusive device. In other words, Microsoft won’t expand the market availability of the Duo in the coming months, and sales will take place exclusively in the United States.
More regions in the world, most likely the largest markets in Europe, are projected to receive the Surface Duo in the first half of 2021. And there’s a good reason why this happens.
Microsoft is using the early reception of the Surface Duo in the United States to determine if this is a product that deserves a global launch or not. What this means is that the next few months will be critical for the future of the first-generation Surface Duo, so depending on how it’s received by customers in the United States, Microsoft can decide on whether it should be launched elsewhere or not.
The plan makes sense at first glance, but on the other hand, it could also mean that the Surface Duo might never reach other countries if sales in the U.S. don’t go as planned.
The good news is that Microsoft is already planning a second-generation Surface Duo, and the company has suggested this is indeed the case on several occasions. Earlier this week, it has emerged the at the Surface Duo 2 is internally codenamed Zeta, so given it already has a name, there’s a chance that Microsoft has already started the work on the device.
While it’s a little bit too early to discuss the rest of the details because anything can change, it’s believed that Microsoft is aiming for a late-2021 launch for the second-generation Duo. In other words, only a few months after Microsoft launches the Duo worldwide, if the plan indeed gets the go-ahead, the new Duo 2 could see the daylight with improved capabilities.
Needless to say, we should expect the Duo 2 to come with the most recent generation of Snapdragon chips, as Microsoft won’t make the same mistake twice, there’s no doubt about this. 5G support is very likely as well, and so are new cameras that would make the Duo 2 a full-time replacement to the likes of Samsung and Google devices.
Right now, it’s very clear that Microsoft is already planning in the long term as far as the Surface Duo goes, so it won’t be long until more information about the future of the device makes the headlines.