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In 2019, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Duo, a dual-screen Android smartphone, alongside the Surface Neo, its bigger sibling with Windows. Unfortunately, the latter bit the dust and never materialized. However, if you wanted a sleek dual-screen device from Microsoft with Windows inside, there is good news: you can now dual-boot Windows and Android on the original Surface Duo.
Today, Gustave Monce (@gus33000) published the early results of their efforts to bring Windows to the Surface Duo. If you own the 128GB variant of the first-gen Surface Duo, you can try installing Windows on ARM alongside the original Android (the UEFI also allows booting Linux).
A little spoiler: the result will be barely usable.
We've made available an early preview of the work I've done on Surface Duo. It's still early, not much works, but you can try it as early as today if you want to.
Installing Windows on the Surface Duo is not the easiest procedure, so you need to be prepared for the unexpected and ready for troubleshooting. Still, developers took care to provide an easy-to-understand guide with detailed steps. As usual for such a project, make sure to backup all mission-critical data before proceeding.
Although the idea of running Windows on the Surface Duo sounds exciting, the project is currently in its infancy, which means almost nothing works. The system boots, but touch, network, cellular, cameras, and other essential hardware bits and pieces do not work. In other words, you cannot use the Surface Duo with Windows as your daily driver. Keep those limitations in mind before experimenting with your smartphone.
The project is compatible with the first-gen Surface Duo 128 GB (unlocked and AT&T) running Android 10 and 11. You can also try installing Windows on the 256 GB variant, but the developer says they currently target only 128 GB models. Finally, it is worth noting that you cannot use the guide to install Windows on the second-gen Surface Duo. That smartphone is not supported.
You can find everything you need to install Windows 11 on the Surface Duo here.
You can now dual-boot Windows 11 and Android on the original Surface Duo
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