And to think the Surface Duo could be running this instead of Android 10 in 2022
The Surface Duo from Microsoft was the first time the company delved its toes into Android, after being a fierce competitor for years through Windows Phone (and later Windows 10 Mobile). But it wasn’t going to be this way at first. Initially, the Surface Duo was going to run a new operating system developed in-house by Microsoft (and presumably, if it saw the light, launched under the Windows branding). Andromeda OS never came to be, but thanks to new images and a video, we now know a little more about how it would’ve looked like, and functioned, should it have launched.
Windows Central got its hands on a Lumia 950 running an early version of Andromeda OS and made a video about it. We should note that the operating system wasn’t designed to run on a single-screened device — after all, it was being developed for the Surface Duo. But engineers likely used this phone to test the operating system nonetheless, leading us to the prototype we’re seeing right now.
Many parts of the UI look almost identical to Windows Phone and fit the general Windows 10 aesthetic, which is not a bad thing, as the phone would’ve probably been marketed as running a version of Windows. While we can’t see it at its full potential due to the fact that it’s not running on a dual-screen device, that influence can clearly be seen across the operating system. It has a “Journal” feature that lets you jot down stuff with a stylus anywhere you want, even on the lockscreen. Gesture support can be seen too, and we can also observe an early dual-screen mode (which acts as an awkward split-screen mode because there’s no second screen).
This got axed, and it won’t be seeing the light of day. The company probably remembered the reason why Windows Phone died off and decided to stick to the tried-and-true Android platform for its smartphone. Although if the Surface Duo did launch with this, you’d have to wonder if it would probably be at least updated.
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