Later this year, Microsoft is set to release two dual-screen devices: the Surface Duo and the Surface Neo. While the former runs Android, the latter runs a new version of Windows called Windows 10X. Microsoft started talking about how it would handle developing for the products back in November, saying that it would have more to share over time.
Today, the company announced preview SDKs and emulators for the new devices. In fact, you can get started for the Surface Duo right now. And if you"re wondering how the Surface Duo will work, what the UI will look like, and so on, you can go and play with the emulator. You"ll need Android Studio as, oddly enough, Microsoft doesn"t seem to be asking developers to use Visual Studio for Android development, even though it does have its own Android emulator.
As for Windows 10X, you"ll still have to wait just a bit longer. Microsoft says that it plans to deliver a preview on February 11, and the product is going to be called Microsoft Emulator. That"s also when we"ll hear about new APIs for dual-screen devices, and there will be documentation as well.
Microsoft says that by default, your app will only take up a single screen, and then users will be able to expand it to both. You can also program it to expand to full-screen mode. The company is also offering a checklist for your app to work well on the new form factors.
Finally, the firm said its next Developer Day will be, you guessed it, on February 11. It will start at 8:30am Pacific Time, where we"ll learn more about all of this stuff.