What’s new in Android 11 for the original Surface Duo

Microsoft have finally shipped Android 11 for the original Surface Duo. This brings many changes to the Surface Duo and apart from the hardware differences make it comparable with the Surface Duo 2.

Checkout my video guide to the Android 11 update of the Surface Duo 

The update includes the Android January 2022 Security bulletin (which has not hit the Duo 2 yet) and lots of new features:

Auto spanning apps

You can now enable apps to automatically span both screens when opening. I pick apps like Outlook and OneDrive to automatically span.

Fold back to answer

You can enable the Duo to automatically answer calls when you open the phone

New Photos app

The photos app spans both screens and show your photo collection so you can see your photos as you take them. The app is also quicker than the old version.

OneDrive Photo editor

You can now edit and view photos in the new OneDrive photo editor.

Android 11

As the OS Android 11 there are improvements to notification, task switching and a screenshot button in task switcher. Holding down the power button brings up the Android 11 quick access screen where you can control your smart home

Other changes in Android 11 for the Surface Duo

  • Enabling OneNote when clicking the top button on Surface Slim Pen 2
  • Adjust volume from quick settings
  • Thumb mode in Microsoft SwiftKey
  • Improved app draw with drag and drop
  • Refreshed Microsoft Feed
  • Xbox Game pass

Overall, the update fixes bugs glitches and seems to improve the performance. While it can’t improve the camera quality or add missing features like NFC it does bring the device to feature parity with the Surface Duo 2.

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