Microsoft Surface Duo 2 update lets you customize Surface Slim Pen’s buttons, improves touch, and more
The Surface Duo 2’s January update is now available, coming in at 559MB with a ton of fixes and improvements.
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What you need to know
The MicrosoftSurface Duo 2last had a significant update backin early December, but now the expected January update is rolling out and it’s a big one.
The update, which is now available for all Surface Duo 2,brings with itbug fixes, optimizations to the touch driver, January security update, and more.
Surface Slim Pen 2 is starting to give us magic wand vibes with this month’s Surface Duo 2 update. One-click to screenshot? Yes please.https://t.co/GdzB77WPyYpic.twitter.com/5CyXW0wRBaSurface Slim Pen 2 is starting to give us magic wand vibes with this month’s Surface Duo 2 update. One-click to screenshot? Yes please.https://t.co/GdzB77WPyYpic.twitter.com/5CyXW0wRBa— Microsoft Surface (@surface)January 26, 2022January 26, 2022
Here is the full changelog:
In addition to fixing a few things, Microsoft is also adding somenewabilities, including configuring the Surface Slim Pen 2 to align with how it behaves on Windows devices. Specifically, users can configure the pen’s Bluetooth button for single-click, double-click, and press-and-hold to launch specific apps or even take a screenshot. This feature improves upon the December update, allowing that button to default to opening OneNote.
Another new feature is “Apps” in Microsoft’s Your Phone PC application. Previously, Surface Duo 2 users only had access to “Phone screen,” which streamed the Duo’s display to your PC. With this update, users can now launch Android apps individually (and multiple instances), giving a more native experience. Previously, this feature was only available on Samsung smartphones.
One of the fixes we can confirm is the ability to automatically open links on the opposite display (when not occupied). While this feature was built into Surface Duo on Android 10, it was lost going to Android 11, and Microsoft has now fixed it, making multitasking much more natural again.
To grab the update on Surface Duo 2, follow these instructions:
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The update is 559 MB, so it may take time to download depending on your current internet speeds.
See the above video for a walkthrough of the new features.
Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer,podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.
