Emailed on October 4th, 2019 in The Friday Forward

Wednesday Microsoft launched the expected Surface laptop and a pair of Surface Pro tablet/phone hybrids. But it also previewed 2 other devices due out next year that few were expecting. 

The Surface Neo is a dual-screen device that folds into all kinds of shapes including, tablet, tiny laptop and booklet (pretty wild).

The tinier dual-screen device called Surface Duo is a smartphone-computer hybrid running Android.

That Android part is particularly notable. The move shows a new commitment to devices that run Microsoft’s software and services above and beyond the firm’s commitment to Windows.

Little-known-fact: This is not the first time Microsoft and Android have mixed (but it is the first time it should stick). When Microsoft acquired Nokia’s smartphone business, it inherited the Nokia X, a phone built on top of open-source Android, with services from Microsoft replacing those from Google. Microsoft quickly pulled the plug on the effort when it acquired Nokia.

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