Surface Duo teased again by a top Microsoft exec

By JC Torres/

Fans may have heard the sad news. The Surface Neo, the device that would have taken them the closest to the Courier dream, is being delayed to 2021. That said, Microsoft isn't completely abandoned dual-screen dreamers this year. The Microsoft Surface Duo, which runs a modified Android experience, may still be on track. In fact, it may even come earlier if Microsoft's own executives are already building up hype around it.

To be fair, the Surface Duo device isn't exactly a secret that needs to be kept under wraps. Microsoft defied trends and announced both the Surface Duo and Surface Neo a year before even developers would be able to get their hands on one. It was definitely an effective strategy to generate discussion and anticipation as well as prepare developers for what's coming.

Word is that the Surface Duo is coming earlier than initially announced. Instead of a "later in 2020" date, the schedule has reportedly moved up to Summer 2020. The hardware, at least, seems to have been ready even before the coronavirus struck and now it seems that the software is in a state that even Microsoft's top brass is confident enough to advertise it.

Windows and Devices chief Panos Panay recently shared a photo taken using the Surface Duo. Now Corporate Vice-president Brad Anderson tweeted a picture of him and the Surface Duo, basking under the sun and doing work from home the way many executives do.

To be fair, the Surface Duo doesn't need a new operating system the way the Surface Neo needs Windows 10X. Judging by the last live demo last February, however, there was still a lot of work to be done to even make it stable. There are still a few months before the expected launch but if Redmond's top execs are willing to show themselves using the device, then it might be close to ready at this point.

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