About a year ago, I published an article titled What to do with a Surface Duo in 2024. It's about the discontinued Microsoft Surface Duo. The device had seen only two major Android upgrades, the latest version was 12L. Microsoft ended support for it in September 2023. The Surface Duo 2 received some more security updates, but support for it ended in October 2024. So, we have two dual screen foldables that are no longer cared for by their manufacturer. Why should we care, given that the original Duo became available late 2020, roughly five years ago?
Well, it's because it is only five years. No one would consider a car outdated after five years. The same is true for TV sets, dishwashers, and washing machines. So, why do we think we need to replace our phones so often? It's about software. While modern washing machines are small computers, too, they are way less connected, therefore way less vulnerable to attacks. A smartphone, tablet, or foldable, on the other hand wants to be connected all the time. If its system software has not been updated for a while, it becomes more likely that bad actors find a way to gain control or access personal data.
If, on the other hand, there is new system software, why should we abandon a device that met our requirements when we bought it in the first place? Granted, for us working in the tech industry, new gadgets are always tempting. We want to have the latest and greatest. And in a way that is fine. But, given the current global economic situation, the climate changes and their impact on the environment, sustainability is more important than ever. If we manage to use a device just a little longer, shouldn't we try to do so?
Custom ROMs, system software made by the community, have been a thing on Android for a very long time. The Surface Duo received Android 13 and Android 14 because Thai Nguyen thought it was a good idea. Having used it on my Duo throughout 2024, I can wholeheartedly say that it was.
Old ponies learning new tricks
An article for 2025 should, of course, focus on Android 15. The good news is that there already is an implementation of Googles latest Android version for the Surface Duo and Duo 2, this time by a dedicated group of people around a person called Aruna. DUO-DE brings a clean AOSP experience (depending on your choice, with or without Google apps) with desktop mode and floating windows.
To enable floating windows, you need to activate developer mode and switch on Enable freeform windows. Back on the home screen, long tap on the background and choose Home settings.
You can use floating windows in tablet mode, phone mode, or both. Isn't that super cool? It is, particularly from a developers perspective as it gives you a lot of options to test your apps.
You may be wondering why I did not take screenshots but decided to take pictures, which causes reflections and makes the result somewhat blurry. In this article I also want to share how using a dual screen device really feels in 2025. The Surface Duo had faced a lot of criticism, partially because of its obstructing hinge, but also because of bad device software and infrequent updates. So, how inconvenient is the hinge when Android and its apps are way more ready than 5 years ago?
While watching a video on both screens still isn't the best possible experience (because of the hinge), ordinary apps can feel much better. The following picture shows my app TKWeek.
The hinge doesn't feel that obstructing anymore, does it?
Unfortunately, when the Duo was actively marketed, neither Android nor its apps were ready for foldables. Just consider how long it took until we got Jetpack WindowManager, window size classes, and canonical layouts. Still, as time passed by, Android and its flagship apps learned how to make use of the unique foldable features. The next picture shows the tabletop mode in YouTube.
In this posture, the hinge is barely visible, and it certainly doesn't obstruct anything. There are many ways to utilise tabletop mode. Here's how my app Min Time (a talk timer) does it:
Tabletop mode can be used with any foldable that can be opened to 180 degrees. Tent mode, on the other hand, requires a 360 degrees hinge, which, so far, is only possible with dual screen devices:
I still love this posture.
Android 15
So far, we focussed on foldable features. But with Android 15, the Surface Duo learns a few other cool tricks. For example, there is Private space, which keeps private apps locked and hidden. I will be using screenshots here, as now the UI matters rather than the hinge.
Once it has been set up, you must choose a lock for the private space:
The private space will appear at the bottom of the app drawer:
Another cool addition is the ability to save app pairs from the Recents screen:
Wrap up
The DUO-DE custom ROM provides a very polished Android 15 experience. While, certainly, no Android implementation can work around hardware limits (the camera of the original Duo is just bad), an up to date software provides a great overall look and feel, making the device appear fresh again. That's why I am still using my Surface Duo as the daily driver at home.
Being a developer, I also enjoy my Duo as a great testing device. If an app looks great on two physical screens, it will most certainly also look great on foldables with non-obstructing hinges. Additionally, being able to switch to freeform windows easily, is plain cool, and helps testing your app in different scenarios.
So, how long will I be using the Surface Duo? I have no idea. The DUO-DE developers seem eager to provide regular (OTA, by the way) updates, that may make the experience even smoother. If the hardware does not break, I might stay with it until autumn this year and then re-evaluate.
What is your take on sustainability and using hardware as long as possible? Kindly share your thoughts in the comments.
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