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Microsoftsdual-screen smartphone vision is long dead, but that doesnt mean it wasnt right about the form factor.
I love my Surface Duo and am beyond gutted that Microsoft never stuck the landing with this product line.
Windows 11 apps look great on Surface Duo.
Then theres thecustom Android 14 ROM for Surface Duo, developed byThai Nguyen.
It’s very big thing in general to do.
In fact, there have been quite a few challenges along the way.
The keyboard may be small, but it’s fully functional.
Pretty much all the technical challenges were a fun learning experience for me.
During the first day we quickly realised that OK, the screens are not going to work …
It uses a Snapdragon 855, and that chip is not supported at all by Windows.
Officially, Surface Duo is stuck on Android 12. Unofficially, you can run the latest version today.
There’s still a few things to figure out.
It’s not easy, but …
I think in the end it’s a fun experience and something new too.
The different postures of Surface Duo make building a custom ROM difficult.
Its surprising just how cool it is to have a fully-fledged Windows PC that fits in your pocket.
But Monce says its not in a daily drivable state just yet.
Its also worth noting some drivers arent fully working yet either, including sound and the camera.
The Surface Duo form factor is truly unique.
Monce says these will work in time, but its a question of when rather than if.
Installing the project will wipe your Android install, however, so be warned.
I was running ROMs on the HTC HD2 [which] shipped with Windows Mobile 6.5.
And then it had Windows Phone 7 ported to it and then it had Android ported to it.
On its own, Android isnt very good at supporting two screens simultaneously.
The approach that Microsoft took here is great because it allows for smooth animations and certain UX/UI.
But the problem with this approach is that it’s a lot of effort to do window management."
Nguyen decided to streamline this process with his custom ROM.
In my version, I just resize the logical screen to match one of the display panels …
But that doesnt solve the Duos biggest strength: Multitasking.
The ability to swipe apps to one side to split [the] screen.
To swipe the app to the center to span the two screens.
I do intend to work on that further, but I need to find time first.
I’ve seen some promising development on the open-source side to have all that telephony stuff working.
Nguyen says he intends to release an Android 15 ROM for the Surface Duo later this year.
