The original Microsoft Surface Duo shipped with Android 10 out of the box, and the phone’s software experience was famously buggy. Nevertheless, some users managed to get enjoyment out of it, and we’ve seen the advent of a successor in the form of the Microsoft Surface Duo 2. It’s still an Android-based device though, with no officially supported way to launch Windows (or Windows Mobile for that matter) on it. Now though, a developer by the name of Gustave Monce has given us our first glimpse at Windows 11 on the Microsoft Surface Duo.
Still early days so aside from booting and showing stuff on screen that is about it but that’s always satisfying to watch pic.twitter.com/z0iTJFIbyY
— Gustave Monce (@gus33000) February 2, 2022
Keep in mind that this is just the installer for Windows 11, and not Windows 11 itself. It doesn’t appear that Monce has gotten the full version of Windows to boot on the Microsoft Surface Duo just yet, though that does appear to be the goal. Monce once booted Windows 10X on the Lumia 950XL, and then later followed that up by booting Windows 11 on it. It’s not likely that you’ll even want to install Windows 11 in full on your daily driver, as it’s unlikely that it will work fully as a phone once installed.
Windows is best known as an OS for regular x86 PCs, but Microsoft’s operating system can be found on several kinds of devices with non-traditional form factors. The Windows on ARM segment is also expanding steadily, thanks to the 64-bit emulation capability of Windows 11. Microsoft hasn’t focused too much on mobile, though the Renegade Project aims to simplify booting ARM64 Windows 11 and Windows 10 on Android devices. Windows 11 on the Microsoft Surface Duo is currently in its very early stages of development, but this is definitely a good start.
As for the build shown in the tweet, it’s Windows 11 Insider Build 22523, despite the latest Insider build being 22543. The reason that Monce used the older build was just that he had access to the ready-made installer. We reached out to Monce, who also confirmed to us that the preliminary firmware implementation has been done. After some polishing, he’ll be moving on to implementing the Windows drivers themselves.
It’s likely a while until we’ll see this completely usable on a Microsoft Surface Duo just yet, but it’s a fun project to keep an eye on for sure. Who needs Windows Mobile when you can have Windows Desktop on your phone instead?
The post Want to use Windows 11 on the Microsoft Surface Duo? It’s getting there appeared first on xda-developers.