Sometimes it’s the hidden message from the headlines that has the biggest long-term impact.
This is the case of today’s official debut of the Microsoft Surface Duo cellular device, or what many other people will likely call the Surface phone. Yes, there are vital highlights in today’s news that many have been ahead since the company first announced the phone in October last year. But beyond the specifications, pricing, availability (pre-orders today, full availability on September 10) and even the unique workflow concepts that Surface Duo allows, there’s something that can be even more influential: Microsoft’s influence on Android.
Before we explain what I mean, let’s go over the basics. The initial value of $1399 for a Surface Duo is definitely high, especially in the middle of a pandemic, and some will definitely be disappointed by this. Yes, there will be a market for high-end phones, but there are many other people in those days. In addition, we haven’t noticed the next 5G iPhones yet.
From a purely technical point of view, there are many things I like about Surface Duo, as well as a number of things that justify this price. In particular, the two 5.6-inch AMOLED displays covered with high-resolution Corning Gorilla Glass (1,800 x 1,350) that span with an impressive 8.1-inch, 401-dpi display look like a show worth watching. Surface Duo’s 360-degree hinge design also referred to much of the traditional engineering, as well as the internal parts (including traditional antennas and wiring) needed for the operation of the device.
At the same time, as it turns out to be the case with first-generation Surface devices in the new categories, there are also frustrating technical limitations, at least for those value levels. For example, while Surface Duo is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon SOC, this is the latest generation 8fivefive, instead of the 86five that the maximum number of new high-end phones is likely to have. In addition, it is a 4G phone with only WiFi five aids (instead of WiFi 6), and the camera solution for singles is a little low to 11MP.
Now, to be fair to Microsoft Surface Manager (and now Windows), Panos Panay and his team, the maximum of those main points probably doesn’t matter to Surface enthusiasts and the five committed Microsoft users they target with this product. In addition, none of those main specification points are visual in the elegant design of two folding screens less than five mm thick and the user delights with surface duo creation.
Of course, for Surface Duo enthusiasts, this is the genuine point of this device. It’s an effort to reconsider the way we use and think about cellular devices. In fact, this is the main explanation for why Microsoft doesn’t call Surface Duo a smartphone. (Although it works and caquet like a duck, then….)
The genuine purpose is to create a multi-screen cellular device that will allow other people to be as productive as possible, wherever they are. Equally important, it’s meant to be a wonderful other meaningful device for a Windows 10 PC (Surface or not), through the Windows Your Phone app, and a perfect Microsoft 365 visitor with on-premises on-premises apps, while providing access to the full diversity of millions of Android mobile apps. This is a major challenge, and without being able to verify the device yet, it is highly unlikely that you have succeeded or not.
What’s very clear, even now, is that with Surface Duo Microsoft it’s starting to influence the look, usability, and functional features of Android in a very positive way. Fans of the Microsoft Android Launcher app/ui can recognize that much of the sleek design presented through Microsoft with Surface Duo has some heritage. Making sure that the local delight of an Android device reflects a Microsoft design aesthetic from the moment it is turned on is very new and, in my opinion, very interesting. This also reflects the extent to which Google was willing to allow Microsoft to adjust the joy of its users, which is also intriguing.
That said, there’s still a lot of Google’s influence on Surface Duo, adding the Google search bar widget to the home screen and the default use of the Google Assistant. In fact, it’s probably a “best of” combination, with other elements of other corporations contributing to the overall experience.
What’s even more appealing are the extensions that Microsoft has been running for Surface Duo that make full use of the multiple screens of the classic Android that it enjoys. Microsoft argues that its dual-screen technique is cognitively more effective than even a larger single screen. And, in fact, some of the demonstrations they have on Surface Duo show compelling cases. From previewing individual emails in Outlook to launching and then viewing links from a text message or other app without losing sight of your starting point, new workflows enabled through Surface Duo design actually seem like a more compelling option than simple screen delight in us. we’re all used to it.
The last piece of this influential puzzle is the critical point that the settings at which Microsoft is running are not a single Android fork that will only appear on Surface Duo. Instead, those contributions are returned to the main Android code. Along with other APIs and paints that Google has already made for foldable and dual-screen devices, this combination will offer significant potential advantages for many other OEM phone manufacturers. Given Microsoft’s recent announcements with Samsung at last week’s Unpacked event for software extensions on new Samsung phones, I’m intrigued to see if we’re going to see similar features on the second generation Galaxy Z Fold 2 folding device, the best important points that are scheduled to be revealed on September 1. After all, if you can use those software extensions to turn a larger single screen into two smaller virtual screens, you’ll theoretically be able to create a fun similar to Surface Duo, with the added benefits of not having a physical stamp between the two screens when you need a single screen to enjoy.
In any case, it’s exciting to see several tech players combined in an attractive way to better take advantage of those cutting-edge folding form factors. Fans of Microsoft Surface designs will likely place Surface Duo as an attractive new addition, but I hope Microsoft’s contributions and influence on Android will have an even greater impact.
Disclosure: TECHnalysis Research is a consulting and market company in the generation sector and, like all corporations in this field, works with many generation providers as customers, some of which can be indexed in this article.
Bob O’Donnell is president, founder and chief analyst of TECHnalysis Research, a generation and market consulting firm with many players in the generation industry.
Bob O’Donnell is president, founder and chief analyst of TECHnalysis Research, a market research and generation consulting firm that counts many of the most important suppliers in the generation industry among its clients. O’Donnell’s studios and reviews are also used through major media, adding Bloomberg TV, CNBC, CNN, Investor’s Business Daily, Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, etc. O’Donnell writes regular columns for USAToday and Forbes, as well as a weekly blog for Tech.pinions.com which is also published on TechSpot, SeekingAlpha and LinkedIn. Prior to founding TECHnalysis Research, O’Donnell served as Vice President of Programs, Clients and Screens for IDC Corporate Business Studies. O’Donnell graduated from the University of Notre Dame.