Microsoft is making an Android phone. And it has two screens.
The Windows software maker showed off its device, called the Surface Duo, Wednesday at an event in New York.
Microsoft tried for over two decades to make operating systems for mobile phones, but it gave up on the effort two years ago.
It couldn't compete with the popularity of Google's Android and Apple's iOS, which will be on 87% and 13% of the world's smartphones this year, respectively, according to IDC.
Instead, Microsoft has opted to expand its Office software and other services to rival devices, including iPhones. The company's first Android phone takes that further.
Getting back into phones won't be easy. There are really only three companies who sell devices in huge numbers and make any money from their smartphones -- Samsung, Huawei and Apple.
In the second quarter, 22% of smartphones shipped in the world were made by Samsung, 17% by Huawei and 11% by Apple, according to Strategy Analytics.
No one else cracked 10%, though Chinese vendors Xiaomi and Oppo came close. It's highly unlikely that Microsoft, with an Android phone, would ever become a major phone vendor.
Microsoft isn't the first company to make a smartphone with two displays -- but it's hoping to be the first that's really successful.
ZTE's Axom M hit the market in 2017 but didn't exactly spark a trend. LG earlier this year showed off a Dual Screen attachment for its first 5G phone, the V50, as well as a version for its LG G8X ThinQ phone.
But LG's device hasn't generated the same buzz as foldable phones from Samsung and Huawei and even rumored foldables from companies like Motorola.
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