Surface Duo features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 processor, 6GB RAM and starts with 128GB garage (you can get a 256GB style for $1,500). Its two 5.6-inch AMOLED presentations have a 1800 x 1350 solution – in combination they shape an 8.1-inch screen (with a hinge in the middle, of course). Microsoft says it’s the thinnest Surface device to date, measuring 4.8 millimeters when it opens. At 0.55 pounds (250 grams), it’s a little heavier than the iPhone 11 Pro Max. But really, what else did you expect from a Gorilla Glass-wrapped device around two screens?
While Panos Panay, Microsoft’s product manager, brought Surface Duo to a press conference, it was hard to say whether the hardware had replaced much since its debut last October. The software, on the other hand, is much more complicated for multitasking than any folding or double-screen phone that we have noticed so far. If you attach to a link in a text message or email, it will open in an Internet browser on the other screen, so you may not be distracted. You can pair apps to open in combination from the Android launcher (Panay says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella uses the Kindle app with a note-taking program).
You can also seamlessly drag content between screens: In the demo, Panay retrieved the ingredients from a recipe from a website that immediately became a smart list in the Microsoft To Do app. This is anything that involves copying text, exchanging apps and pasting it to a general smartphone. Microsoft obviously bets on the desire to multitask on phones. Who wouldn’t want an extra screen to browse the Internet without making a video call? Wouldn’t it be less difficult to process emails if you could display all your messages in one window while reading them in another?
However, despite how intrigued I am, I can already see some possible disorders with Surface Duo. On the one hand, writing can be a little annoying in some directions. If you click a text box on the left screen in booklet mode, get a one-handed keyboard aligned with your left thumb. Sounds like a smart idea, but I can’t believe hitting too much with one finger and it’s too annoying to lean over your right hand. Instead, you want to transfer the Duo to landscape mode to get a giant two-inch keyboard. You can also use any Surface pen to take notes, but this is anything you want to buy separately and carry in your pocket, as there’s no way to attach it to the Duo.
Microsoft also directly disagrees with the finishing of multi-camera smartphones. Surface Duo has only an 11-megapixel trigger on its right screen. It looks like a typical front lens: to use it as a rear camera, simply fold the screen. While Microsoft claims that the Duo has a portrait mode and can take HDR photos from multiple frames, it’s all software-based. You may not be able to enjoy other lens lengths like other high-finishing smartphones. There is also no mention of a night shooting mode, so you can probably have a decent smooth bass performance. While Microsoft might still end up waiting for the camera, the specs don’t give me much hope.
The Surface Duo may also seem a little outdated now that Samsung has introduced the Galaxy Z Fold 2, its third attempt to run flexible phones. But Panay, still the guy at the company, believes there’s a very transparent explanation why Microsoft chose to build devices with two separate screens connected through hinges. “Me in the windows, ” he says. “I’m in windows.” The company found that users performed multiple responsibilities differently when they could also organize their paintings on two separate screens, rather than a single screen. And, of course, it also helps that the Duo is much less expensive than the original Galaxy Z Fold, which costs more than $2000 (we still don’t know the value of the Z Fold 2). The $1380 Galaxy Z Flip is a slightly more interesting explanation, however, its smaller screen is rarely as useful as the Surface Duo.
You can book Surface Duo from the Microsoft Store, AT-T, and Best Buy. This will be seen in the T-Mobile and Verizon network paints, if it detects an unlocked model.