Microsoft founder Bill Gates uses a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 instead of a Surface Duo

Ben Schoon | May 20 2022 - 7:40 am PT

During a Reddit AMA this week, Microsoft’s founder Bill Gates revealed he uses an Android phone with a big canvas, but it isn’t Microsoft’s own Surface Duo. Instead, Bill Gates uses a Galaxy Z Fold 3 as his daily smartphone.

In response to one of the Reddit questions in his AMA thread, Bill Gates finally confirmed which smartphone he uses. A Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3. It comes as no surprise that Gates uses an Android device, as he’s said a few times in the past, as far back as 2017, that he uses Android.

Why does Gates use a Fold 3 in particular? After all, he says he tries “different ones.” He explains that the size of the Fold’s display means he can get away with using it and a “portable PC” and nothing else. It’s likely he uses a Samsung phone, too, just because Samsung’s tight partnership with Microsoft allows the company’s various devices to integrate extremely well with Windows.

In the past, Bill Gates has been happy to talk about how he uses an Android phone over Apple’s iPhone, but this is the first time he’s been specific about the exact model he prefers to use. In 2021, during an interview on Clubhouse, he also brought up that some Android manufacturers pre-install Microsoft software, as well as that Android is more flexible compared to iOS and that he wants “to keep track of everything.”

The slightly hilarious bit here is that Gates doesn’t use Microsoft’s own smartphone, the Surface Duo. That device has a lot of the same goals as Samsung’s foldable, with two internal screens on a hinge designed to give you more space for apps and getting things done. Then again, maybe Gates just wants polished software, a decent camera, and updates that actually arrive on time.