The Microsoft Surface Duo is now available for preorder, with its market release set for September 10, culminating a nearly year-long launch ordeal for the brand’s first Android-powered device.
Whether a smartphone, a foldable, a tablet, or a computer, the Surface Duo has come along at a time when several manufacturers are experimenting not only with form factors but also with the prices of their devices. This product will sell for an eye-watering $1399, with availability at the Microsoft online store, AT&T, and Best Buy. The Surface Duo will also work on T-Mobile and Verizon mobile networks.
Because this device is almost a year old, it is running slightly dated hardware, including the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip. While many comparable products feature a continuous screen that folds somehow in the middle, the Microsoft Surface Duo features two 5.6-inch displays, which form a continuous 8.1-inch display when opened flat. They are attached with a 360-degree hinge, allowing the device to fold both inward and outward.
With an aim at productivity-driven consumers looking to avoid the potential pitfalls of fragile foldable display devices, the Surface Duo displays feature real Gorilla Glass and can be used in several configurations, including with one screen as an actual display and the other as a keyboard.
Pundits have critiqued several facets of this device, noting that it goes not support 5G, and it features only one camera, an 11-megapixel lens with f/2.0 aperture. Serving as both its main and video camera, the lens features flash, 7x“super zoom,” multi-frame HDR, 4K and 1080p video recording at 30fps and 60fps, and EIS.
Other hardware includes 6GB of RAM, 128GB, and 256GB internal storage options, and a 3577 mAh battery with an 18W charger.
Accessories for the Surface Duo include a bumper cover for protecting its frame, which ships with the device, and a stylus pen, which sells separately for $100.
Microsoft is particularly proud of the Surface Duo design with Windows and devices chief Panos Panay calling it “one of the sexiest devices we’ve ever built,” in a press briefing ahead of the public announcement. It is available in a single Glacier color option.
Running Android 10 as its primary operating system, the Surface Duo is still an amalgamation of software. It includes preloaded Microsoft applications, such as Office, Outlook, and OneDrive; Surface Duo UI core features, such as Dual screen windowing, Adaptive modes, and App Groups; Google apps such as search, assistants, Gmail, and YouTube, and carrier (AT&T) based apps, such as HBO MAX, My AT&T, and Amazon Shopping.
