We've got some bad news about Microsoft's Surface Duo 2: it's going away to the farm.
Three years after launching the device with a premium price tag of $1,499, Microsoft has released what appears to be the last ever security update for the device: as with the original Duo last year, Microsoft is ending all support and software updates three years from the device's launch. For the Duo 2, all support will end on 21 October 2024.
Microsoft originally launched the device with a promised three years of software upgrades, but during that period it only offered one Android OS update.
The Duo 2 was part of the more experimental Surface product range, but in 2023 Microsoft embarked on a program of cutbacks that saw many of those products cancelled – so for example, the second generation of Surface headphones never arrived. Microsoft decided to focus only on the most popular, high profile hardware such as the Surface Go and Surface Pro.
Why the Duo's demise could make Microsoft buyers think twice
Businesses cancel product lines all the time, of course. But with a device such as the Duo 2, customers were betting on Microsoft sticking with its Android operating system – and clearly that bet didn't turn out to be a particularly fruitful one.
As we said last year, Microsoft's approach to the Duos was "surprisingly anti-consumer": the original Duo only received two major updates, and the Duo 2 has only had one. And of course Android isn't the only OS Microsoft has embraced and then dumped, as former Windows Phone users know all too well.
That means for would-be Microsoft buyers there's an additional question to ask when considering new hardware, especially the kind that's less mainstream or that uses different OSes: how long before Microsoft loses interest?
That's got to be good news for Apple: where Microsoft's Duos have reached their end of life after three years each, Apple is still updating its first-generation iPad Pro six years after launch. The Apple option was much cheaper, too: the first-gen 11-inch iPad Pro was $799 compared to $1,499 for the Duo 2.
