Microsoft says Android 11 will finally arrive for the original Surface Duo in the ‘next few weeks’
TheSurface Duowas an exciting device when it came out, even with its quirks. Still, as thrilled as we were to see Microsoft launch its first Android smartphone (and in a unique form factor, nonetheless), buyers quickly realized that the phone had abysmal software support. The has been waiting the better part of forever to receivean update to Android 11, even withAndroid 12being out and coming to more phones every day,12L in the beta-testing stage, and13 already in development. As if that’s not frustrating enough, its successor, theSurface Duo 2, already has Android 11. The situation got so bad, it earned a spot in our “biggest tech fails of 2021” list. The phone’s update still isn’t here just yet, but according to Microsoft, you’re not going to have to wait that much longer.
Microsoft offered a statement toWindows Centralabout when distressed Surface Duo users could begin to start seeing the Android 11 update land on their devices. The good news: It should be here in the next few weeks.
We’re finalizing the validation and certification for Android 11. We originally planned to deploy Android 11 as an update for Surface Duo in December, but we needed a few more weeks to ensure a great experience for Surface Duo customers. We expect to begin Android 11 rollout in the next few weeks, beginning with unlocked devices.
The update was initially targeted to arrive over the holidays, as Microsoft’s original promise was that Android 11 would land before the end of 2021 — but 2021 is already over, and yet the update is nowhere to be seen. The fact that it’s going through validation and certification means that it’s almost certainly ready for prime time, and hopefully, once that step is done, the update will begin to arrive at long last.
As Microsoft notes, the update will come first to unlocked devices — so if you bought your phone through AT&T or another carrier, maybe add a couple of extra weeks to that ETA.
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