Remember the Surface Neo? Sure, you do! The device has been in the news lately after hitting the wretched milestone of 1000 days since unveil without a launch. Or talk, even.
Luckily, some new details on the now postponed—read dead—device reveal how Microsoft avoided what would have been a disaster.
The Surface Neo was to usher in a future where everyone would use dual-screen PCs. Powering this vision was the Windows 10X operating system, which was in development parallel to the Neo. Also in the mix were the hybrid Intel Lakefield processors that promised the world.
As things went, all three of the products were canned in one way or another.
Windows 10X evolved to Windows 11, Intel gave up on its mobile processors to bring the hybrid technology to its mainline chips, while the Surface Neo went missing altogether. We did, however, get a dual-screen device from Microsoft in the form of the Surface Duo, now in its second-generation.
But while we did not get an official word from Redmond on why this happened, some juicy tidbits have, well, surfaced that show that it was for the better that the device got the boot.
Apparently, there were more problems than one with the prototype versions of the hardware.
Three core issues were of note.
The device overheated quickly, its size was too small, and the Windows 10X operating system was buggy and unpolished, according to sources who played with the early versions of the Neo.
As for overheating, it is believed that the Surface Neo had to be kept under a fan during demos at the last in-person event Microsoft held in 2019. This had to do as much with the Neo’s thin form factor, at just 5.6mm, as it did with drivers not being finished for the Lakefield chips.
The 9-inch screen size also felt cramped, not to mention the fact that Windows 10X was still a work in progress at that time and needed a lot of polishing.
All in all, it is clear that Microsoft dodged a bullet by not releasing the Surface Neo—at least in its current state. The device was clearly not ready for prime time, and sane thoughts prevailed to help Microsoft avoid another undercooked Windows 8 and Windows RT disaster.
But hey, at least the Surface Neo showed up in movies.
Which is likely the only place where we will see it.
