The Galaxy Fold and Pixel Fold have become the gold standard for dual-screen phones, but they are far from alone. Going against the flexible panel trend, one alternative dual-screen phone is the Microsoft Surface Duo 2. Unfortunately, the book-like Duo is getting a little dated at almost two years old. When might we see the Microsoft Surface Duo 3? Here’s everything we know.

The answer to this is a lot more complicated than you’d expect. While the Surface Duo series has a niche fanbase, it has yet to succeed commercially. Early last year, there were rumors that a Surface Duo 3 was in the works, but in January a report from Windows Central claimed that it may have gotten the axe. Well, sort of.

According to this report, the Duo 3 was finalized and ready for production, but Microsoft is scrapping it altogether. The good news is that Microsoft isn’t ready to ditch Android phones altogether; it is just regrouping and trying a different approach.

Reportedly, Microsoft is prototyping several different Android devices, including those with more traditional displays and a true foldable that will be the successor to the Duo series. While the foldable Surface phone might end up with a whole new name, the report claims that internally, it’s at least referred to as the Surface Duo 3 for now.

• Surface Duo: September 10, 2020
• Surface Duo 2: September 22, 2021

Unless the Windows Central report proves inaccurate, there might not be a true dual-screen Surface Duo 3. If they plan to pivot to a new foldable design, we will likely see this device in late 2024 at the earliest.

The WC report suggests the foldable Surface phone has been prototyped and in the works for about a year, so that should give it enough time to get into production by late next year, we’d imagine. But that’s really just speculation on our part.

If the report is incorrect and the dual-screen Duo 3 is on its way? Odds are it will launch this September. Considering we’ve yet to hear solid rumors about an imminent launch, we’d say Microsoft will likely delay the Duo 3, as the rumors suggest.

Regardless of whether it arrives as a foldable or dual-screen device, the next Surface phone will likely follow the Duo’s lead and push the latest Qualcomm processor, probably at least a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. That particular chipset is due to hit later this year.

We don’t really know much more beyond that. It sounds very possible we’ll get a design similar to the HONOR Magic Vs or vivo X Fold. It’s also possible that the Surface Duo successor could still emulate the dual-screen experience on the software side, giving us a device that works similarly to the Duo 2 but with just one foldable display.

What will the Microsoft Surface Duo 3 price be if and when it comes?

• Surface Duo: $1,399
• Surface Duo 2: $1,500

The Surface Duo 3 would likely have stuck to a price tag in the $1400-$1500 range had it come with a dual-screen display. The foldable Surface Duo’s pricing is less clear.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Pixel Fold are probably the two biggest potential competitors for this thing, at least in the United States. Both of these devices start at $1,799. It’s likely Microsoft would want to match or even slightly undercut this if it hopes to gain any traction in the foldable space.

If you were considering the next Surface Duo, the best alternative would be to buy the Surface Duo 2. You can now find it for as little as $650 used at places like Swappa. It’s much harder to find a new one in stock, however.

If you didn’t care about its dual-screen features and just wanted a more typical phone that turns into a tablet device, then we’d highly recommend either picking up the Samsung Galaxy Fold 4 ($1180.25 at Amazon), Fold 3 ($999.99 at Best Buy) if you want to save some cash or even the Google Pixel Fold ($1799 at Amazon) would work well as an alternative. There are even more recommendations in our best foldable phone guide, but remember, many of these aren’t available stateside.