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| mobilesyrup.com |
Qualcomm has been designing laptop processors for always-on Windows on Arm ultraportables for quite some time. But we had no idea that some third-party developers would be one step ahead of Microsoft in reaping the benefits of Windows on Arm-powered devices. For example, Gustave Monce aka XDA Senior Member gus33000 previously coaxed Windows 11 to run on the original Surface Duo, but now he has ported Microsoft's latest operating system to the Surface Duo 2.
Related: Microsoft Debuts 5G Duo Android Phone
Monce demonstrated Windows 11 booted to the desktop and partially working on a Microsoft Surface Duo 2 in a series of tweets and replies. It should be noted, however, that the majority of the device's core components are inoperable. While the display panel is operational, the OS currently recognizes only one of the eight cores of the underlying Snapdragon 888 SoC.
This is Windows on Surface Duo 2 as it currently stands. (Snapdragon 888 device). Windows sort of boots up, with only one cpu core. UFS works and can display something on the left. This is really it for now. And there are still a ton of issues to tackle. pic.twitter.com/WfDwPs7RHI
— Gustave Monce (@gus33000) October 9, 2022
Gustave and other WOA Project contributors added preliminary support for the device in the open source Windows UEFI firmware bootstrapper project SurfaceDuoPkg back in August, laying the groundwork for booting an alternative OS on the second-generation Surface Duo. While Monce did not reveal any details about the installation process, the prospect of a full-fledged instance of Windows running on a Microsoft smartphone is enticing for anyone who is interested in either Android smartphones or Windows, or both.
If you're feeling brave, you can install this port after unlocking the bootloader on both the European and US variants of the Microsoft Surface Duo 2. Keep in mind that the kernel in Windows 11 will attempt to read an unsupported register on this device during bootup, so it is best to wait for the additional patches before attempting to install it on your own to avoid unforeseen errors. This, of course, comes with the risk of bricking your phone or worse.
It's always entertaining to see operating systems running on devices they weren't designed for. Some may find it almost poetic that Microsoft is struggling to release Android 12L for the Surface Duo family — a task that will take more than seven months to complete at this point.
Reference: SurfaceDuoPkg GitHub Repo, Gustave Monce on Twitter
