Microsoft let the cat out of the bag early with their Surface Duo. Although we are yet to see it materialise in person that hasn’t stopped us from eagerly anticipating its release to the public. It seems that Microsoft are impressed with what they have going on with it and have purchased part of the company they contracted to work on the Android side of the OS on the Surface Duo.
The company in question, Movial, was originally contracted by Microsoft to work closely with them to help create the software, services and design for the software on the Surface Duo. Microsoft must have been impressed with the work the Movial staff have performed because they have just acquired the portions of the company that did the work for them.
Movial operations in Romania, Taiwan and the US will now fall under the Microsoft umbrella with every employee who was working on the Surface Duo now a Microsoft employee. While Movial as a whole has not been bought out a large chunk of their Android operations have been.
This transaction involves people in Movial operations in Romania, Taiwan and the United States. Movial will continue operating as an independent company going forward, continuing to provide software engineering and design services. A Movial spokesperson
Microsoft have also confirmed the purchase and it seems to be similar to the Google hiring/purchase of the HTC employees from Taiwan a couple of years ago. It signals Microsoft’s commitment to Android and the now in-house team will continue to work on the Surface Duo handling “post-launch software updates” and adding “new features and experiences over time”
Microsoft recently completed an agreement with Movial to hire employees across several offices as part of the company’s efforts to boost Windows and Android development efforts.A Microsoft spokesperson
Windows Central are also reporting that the same team will also handle work on the next version of the Surface Duo (V2) which is already in development as you would expect given development timeframes. Work on the upcoming Surface Duo is apparently complete though with a launch expected late this winter (Australian time) with updates for both the OS and apps already in the pipeline.
Context: When MS switched to Android on Duo, it didn't have a team that could immediately begin working on what it wanted with Android, so MS hired third-party vendors to do that initial groundwork. Now that work is complete, MS is bringing them in-house to continue post-launch.
— Zac Bowden (@zacbowden) July 7, 2020
Although the specs on the Surface Duo are rumoured to be last year’s flagship specs we expect it to still run well and integrate with the rest of Microsoft’s ecosystem well at the same time. It is expected to be a device targeted at the enterprise end of the market and priced as such.
Even with all this we can’t wait to check it out when it lands Downunder. Anyone interested in this upcoming foldable from Microsoft?
