Change.org Petition to get Windows 10X on the Surface Duo fails to generate much support

While many Windows Phone fans understood Microsoft’s pragmatic decision to release their Surface Duo device with Android, there is a hardcore who are still demanding Microsoft delivers what has been promised over so many years  – a Surface Phone running Windows.

Now a new petition post at Change.org gives us a measure of the support for the idea, and as can be seen from the screenshot above, it seems rather lacking.

The petition demands:

The newly announced Surface Duo running Android ONLY does not accomplish what many windows UWP developers and Microsoft fans want. We want a Surface Duo device that runs the new Windows 10x OS and that emulates Android apps.

Why?

Because there are many developers still out here that want to write Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps that run on all form factors. When UWP was announced you promised one code base to run on any form factor… including phones and other small form factor “pocketable” devices. Many developers, both on the consumer and enterprise sides of things, still really really want to target small form factor devices with UWP, it’s just that there doesn’t exist any since you killed Lumia!

By announcing an Android-ONLY Surface branded device you effectively also slammed the door shut on there ever truly being a “universal” Windows app.

Panos Panay and Satya Nadella of Microsoft we urge you to keep your promise to UWP developers and fans and give us Windows 10x on Surface Duo.

BTW by allowing us to emulate Android apps on said device you would effectively accomplish the same thing you’re already trying to with Duo without slamming the door on small form factor UWP. A Surface Duo… a truly “duo” device… supporting both Win10x & Android… would give us the best of both worlds.

While the petition’s argument is compelling, it is difficult to see how another failed Windows Phone would help the cause off UWP developers. A much more reasonable approach would be to demand a UWP runtime for Android, which would finally make Microsoft’s platform write once, run everywhere.

If our readers think the petition is the right approach you can sign it here.

Thanks Ransom Peer for the tip.