The Microsoft Surface Duo is the talk of the town. Even with its 12 month old specs, spud cam, lack of NFC and tiny battery it is set to be a revolutionary productivity device. If anyone was questioning Microsoft’s commitment to not just the device but to Android itself they can stop that right now with Microsoft clearing the air over these concerns.
Going above and beyond what most manufacturers offer, Microsoft is promising three years of not just security updates but a full three years of OS updates. The Surface Duo is set to launch with Android 10 but the three versions of Android will see it updated to and including Android 13 — which seems so far in the future.
Of course by the time Android 13 comes along you can be sure they will have at least one successor to it given that they have admitted that they didn’t put their all into the hardware on this one as it is only their first generation of such a device.
As for the security updates it is unclear just how often these will arrive but we would expect them every two or three months based on our experience with a vast array of manufacturers. Microsoft though have been in this software updating game for a while now so don’t be surprised if they arrive more often than that.
For those who like to mod their device Microsoft have also confirmed to XDA that the Surface Duo will have an unlockable bootloader but it is unclear if unlocking said bootloader will void your warranty. Unfortunately modding will not add NFC capabilities to a device which is one of the main reasons we can see why it would/could not be used as a daily device for so many people (including myself).
We will of course ask Microsoft Australia all the local details and will report back as soon as we hear more. With the Surface Duo releasing in the US on September 10 we would expect it to arrive in Australia not long after.
