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Microsoft tipped to skip Android 12 for Surface Duo (but for good reason)

Microsoft is reportedly upgrading the Surface Duo line to Android 12L instead of Android 12.
By

Published onJanuary 3, 2022

Microsoft Surface Duo using opened and typing
David Imel / Android Authority
TL;DR
  • Microsoft’s Surface Duo series will reportedly skip Android 12 in favor of Android 12L.
  • This update should bring several handy features to the dual-screen foldable series.

Microsoft’s Surface Duo series has been a bit of a disaster, to put it mildly. This is in large part due to the dual-screen foldables having a ton of bugs and a general lack of software polish. It didn’t help that the company dragged its feet with major updates for the original model such as Android 11.

Now, Windows Central reports that Microsoft will be skipping the Android 12 update for the Surface Duo, citing its own sources. Instead, it claimed that Microsoft will bring the upcoming Android 12L update to the Surface Duo line instead.

There’s no word on a timeline for the update to come to the series, but it’s believed that Microsoft wants to release it in a quicker fashion than the Android 11 rollout. Then again, that’s a very low bar as the original Surface Duo still hasn’t received Android 11 over a year after the update first became available. So releasing Android 12L eight months after it first becomes available would still technically be a quicker rollout.

What would it take for you to buy a Surface Duo device?

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Nevertheless, Android 12L brings plenty of improvements to large screen devices like tablets and foldable phones. These additions include drag-and-drop split-screen functionality, a taskbar, and a more adaptive interface. We hope this new Android update also brings improved stability to the Surface Duo line, as this remains one of the biggest issues with Microsoft’s dual-screen foldables.

What would it take for you to buy a Surface Duo device? Let us know via the poll above.