Samsung proves Microsoft was wrong to give up on Surface Duo so quickly: The new Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the Surface Duo 3 of my dreams
The article from Windows Central presents a critical perspective on Microsoft’s discontinuation of the Surface Duo line, arguing that Samsung’s success with the Galaxy Z Fold 8 proves Microsoft abandoned the foldable phone category too hastily. The author, who had been a dedicated Surface Duo user since 2020, describes their experience with both the original Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2 as entirely positive, using them as their primary device until Microsoft ceased development.
The piece frames this as part of a larger pattern in the author’s mobile history, beginning with the death of Windows Phone in 2017. After struggling to find a suitable replacement through various iPhones and Android devices, the author finally found their “forever home” in the Surface Duo. That contentment proved short-lived when Microsoft ended the line in 2023. Now, the Galaxy Z Fold 8 appears to have filled the void left by Microsoft’s departure from the foldable phone market, suggesting the company gave up prematurely on a device category that Samsung has since demonstrated significant consumer demand for.
The article’s central argument is that Microsoft’s early exit from the foldable phone space allowed Samsung to establish clear market leadership in an emerging category, and that Microsoft might have succeeded had they persisted with the form factor rather than abandoning it.