We are in 2022 and the Surface Duo still does not have Android 11

We are in 2022. So what does that mean? That's right - it means Microsoft has missed its stated goal of bringing Android 11 to the Surface Duo by 2021 end.

Attentive readers will recall that Microsoft said the following last September: "We remain committed to providing updates to the Surface Duo and are working to bring Android 11 to existing customers before the end of this year." Granted, the company wasn't exactly promising Android 11 by the end of 2021, but that was the heavily implied intention, and it probably gave some Surface Duo users a lot of hope.

As Windows Central first reported, Duo devices have yet to receive Android 11. While this may be disappointing for owners of those devices, it is also unprecedented. Update problems are part of the course with Android - all kinds of manufacturers fail to fix them in a timely manner. "The story on upgrades is the same today as it was a decade ago: first-party Google devices get updated quickly, everything else takes months or doesn't get updated at all," summarized Verge executive editor Dieter Bohn in a 2019 newsletter.

Microsoft should also make Android work with additional controls and functionality to accommodate the Duo's two displays: Android, as an operating system, "is sadly not ready for devices like the Surface Duo," Bohn noted in his review of the device. One might expect such a product to take a bit of time to roll out. Still, Duo users haven't received major software improvements since the device was released 15 months ago, and that's a long wait.

Microsoft has not yet responded to a request for comment, and Windows Central claims to have received a "useless no comment" in response to your query. Fortunately, Windows Central has heard from sources that "the Android 11 update for the Surface Duo is indeed ready and should start rolling out once the update has been certified by Google and AT&T."