The Surface Duo is arguably the most radical device Microsoft has released in recent years. It offers a foldable design with two separate screens. And, to be honest, it looks like an attempt by the craftsmen from AliExpress to offer their foldable phone, but cheaper. But the device has not become cheaper and is still very expensive. But Microsoft believes it could be a paradigm shift in how we interact with our applications. You have to strongly believe in this idea in order not to doubt the company’s intention, but now is not about that. Did you know that long before that, Microsoft was already releasing foldable phones? Not? And she released.
It turns out that Microsoft came up with this over 10 years ago.
Microsoft’s first foldable phone
No matter how strange this design looks, the company from Redmond has already shown its vision of such a solution and has been working on the development of this concept. In fact, a similar design reached advanced stages of development before its eventual cancellation back in 2009. This device was called the Microsoft Courier.
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What is Microsoft Courier
The Courier was Microsoft’s first bid for a dual-screen foldable device before it became mainstream. The device had a book-style form factor with two 7-inch screens with support for multi-touch and pen input.
If this all sounds familiar, it’s because it’s essentially the granddaddy of the Surface Duo we saw not too long ago. Or even a trial pen before its release. And it also shows that the company really prepared and thought, was confident in the concept, which it did not change even after 10 years.
Leaked video at the time demonstrated how users would interact with the device. It was designed to be mainly controlled with a pen, you would never have to deal with a virtual keyboard, touch gestures used for scrolling, and other such controls.
There were also some preliminary feature versions introduced on Surface Duosuch as launching different apps on separate screens and dragging content from one screen to another.
It is also interesting to note the intended use of the Courier hinge. Although the video did not show it, it was reported at the time that the hinge was a “pocket” for applications. It was necessary to move it to this place, and it would open on both screens. The Surface Duo, released 11 years later, also uses a seam of screens to expand the app to its full size.
Как долго на самом деле служит складной телефон. Вот реальный тест.
The dual-screen prototype ran a modified version of Windows with the traditional interface completely removed. This was said to be contrary to then-Windows head Steven Sinofsky’s vision for a version of the operating system for tablets. Sinofsky’s vision was allegedly Windows 8 and first Microsoft Surface tablets.
It could have come out 10 years ago, but it didn’t grow together.
Why Microsoft didn’t release a foldable phone first
The meeting between Bill Gates and Courier project lead (and Xbox pioneer) Jay Allard is said to have been the turning point, after which dual-screen devices were shelved for a long time. There is also information that Gates asked Allard, how users will receive email on the device, to which he replied that they would still receive it on their smartphones or PCs. That is, according to the founder of the company, the device turned out to be unnecessary. In general, the creators positioned it not as a replacement for a computer, but as a device for creating content.
The publication’s sources noted that the project was canceled a few weeks after Gates and Allard’s meeting because it “didn’t fit in with the Windows and Office franchises.”
Смартфоны на Android снова в опасности. Так сказала Microsoft.
Microsoft and its Courier team ran into a number of hurdles during development. One of them was Microsoft itself. From the late 90s to the late 2000s, the company felt the need to put Windows on everything. From Windows Mobile and its tablet computers to the latest Sega Dreamcast gaming console. While Courier also used a modified version of Windows, the above story strongly suggests that Microsoft opted for a more traditional approach. The gadget simply did not fit then into her vision of the future of electronics.
Remember this operating system?
This obsession with Windows has changed somewhat over the past four or five years as the company ditched its smartphone platform in favor of Android and iOS. Thus, the door was opened for an almost forgotten project. And so a gadget that runs on Android appeared – Surface Duo.
Foldable phone or tablet
Courier development also preceded the launch of the first iPad, although its cancellation occurred after the release of the Apple product. However, the Microsoft device was conceived before the tablet boom of the early to mid-2010s.
Meanwhile, the Surface Duo comes at a time when foldable phones that can turn into tablets are gaining momentum, while the tablet industry is well established. Although, we can say that it has already reached its peak and is starting to decline.
For its time it would have been a great device.
The Surface Duo appears to have taken a few pages from the Courier tutorial, from basic design to a hybrid approach of touch and drag gestures. However, does this updated concept really work as it should? It doesn’t look like it yet, but the first version of the Surface Duo was just awful. The price tag at the level of the top-end iPhone for last year’s hardware and incomprehensible use cases repelled users. The second version seemed more promising, but not by much.
What do you think of this device? Have you ever wanted to buy it? Or maybe you can name the reason why this phone is better than clamshells with one big screen? If yes, then you our Telegram chat. They love to talk about stuff like that.
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