What you need to know
- The Windows 11 on Surface Duo project just received an update to version 2303.64.
- The update adds the ability to update the Surface Slim Pen charger by plugging it into the Surface Duo with a USB-C cable.
- The setup now supports DisplayPort through USB-C as well.
Microsoft doesn't make a mobile device that runs Windows 11, but if you're tech savvy, you can force the PC operating system onto a Surface Duo. The Windows 11 on Surface Duo project has been in the works for a year. A recent update added several capabilities, including DisplayPort support via USB-C and the ability to update a Surface Slim Pen charger by plugging it into a Surface Duo.
Gustave Monce, who heads the Windows 11 on Surface Duo project, shared the release notes for the most recent update:
- You can now update your Surface Slim Pen charger by plugging it into Surface Duo using an USB-C to C cable. Updating the charging cradle is required in order for the Surface Slim Pen 2 to charge in the cradle in case the cradle does not run the latest available firmware.
- Putting a Surface Slim Pen into a connected charging cradle will automatically pair it with Surface Duo
- Removing a Surface Slim Pen from a connected charging cradle will automatically wake up Surface Duo
- New firmware is now available for Surface Slim Pen 2 users (pen will automatically update once connected to the device)
- Touch drivers are now shared between both devices
- You can now use OTG devices effortlessly
- Charging is back into this release, without BSOD issues that have been plaguing it before
- [WIP] Updated Calibration for Pens and Touch, not all of the changes are available as of now, so calibration may not be applied with this update (wait the next update)
- [WIP] Added support for DisplayPort via USB-C
- [WIP] Updated Camera drivers, the Camera app will now start but not do much else
- [WIP] Updated Sensor driver to make the Geomagnetic Orientation sensor available
The Surface Duo is not meant to run Windows 11, so you will run into bugs and limits when you force the PC operating system onto the mobile device. But for those brave enough, and savvy enough, to give it a try will have a unique mobile experience.
If you prefer to use the Surface Duo with Android as Microsoft intended, you should check out a recent piece by our Managing Editor Richard Devine. He found that while he couldn't use the Surface Duo as a phone, he enjoyed using it as a tablet. Note that his piece is about the Surface Duo 2, but the original Surface Duo has several of the same pros and cons.
