Starting at $1399, Microsoft’s Surface Duo opens into the thinnest mobile device on the market and connects two PixelSense™ Fusion Displays to create one expansive 8.1-inch screen.
With Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 and dimensions of 145.2 mm (H) x 93.3 mm (W) x 9.9 mm (T at hinge), there’s room for an eSIM5 and one Nano SIM. It runs on Android 10.
But don’t call it a smartphone. Microsoft really, really wants to create a new category of mobile device-- that is, a popular new category.
“We designed Surface Duo for people who want to get more done with the device in their pocket. Our internal research shows that 3 out of 4 people report struggling to complete complex tasks while away from their computer. That’s because smartphones with a single screen aren’t designed for you to easily do multiple things at once,” says Panos Panay, Chief Product Officer for Windows + Devices,\.
“Think about it. You continually have to switch between apps to get even the most essential things done – breaking focus, breaking flow. Just like using two monitors at your desk, having two distinct screens lets you open up two apps side by side…”
He goes on “..as we look ahead to the next wave of mobile productivity and creativity, we see an opportunity to create something new with Surface Duo-- not to reinvent the phone, but to inspire people to rethink how they want to use the device in their pocket.”
Folded up, the Duo is 9.9 mm thick. Unfold and the Surface Duo’s 360-degree hinge allows you to use each screen individually or together, across a variety of modes. Most smartphones sport a tall, pocket-wide size but Microsoft went wider--for an aspect ratio more similar to a laptop or monitor. Like your old iPhone, Duo its slip showing with bezel above and below the screen.
This creates new ways to work while mobile and Microsoft offers these examples:
- Join a Microsoft Teams meeting and see participants on one screen while you present your PowerPoint slides on another.
- Open the Amazon Kindle app and read a book like a book.
- Position Surface Duo’s screen like a tent and watch a video hands-free.
- Use Surface Duo in Compose mode to quickly respond to an email--or tilt it into portrait for a more immersive way to scroll through web pages or photos.
- Pair your Surface Duo with a supported Bluetooth controller to play games on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or with Surface Earbuds, coming Sept. 10 in Graphite Grey, to listen to your favorite playlist or podcast.
- Or easily take notes with the Surface Slim Pen, sold separately.
Panay adds, “The ability to use two screens together on a mobile product has a real impact on how you create, how you share, and how you feel when using the product. Just like cooking, when you combine two flavors that perfectly complement each other, some apps light up in new ways when you use them side by side. Watch a video without missing out on the text thread with your friends. Read and take notes. Look at your calendar while you respond to an email to schedule a meeting. …”
“To bring these experiences to life, we invented new technologies that allow Surface Duo to operate each screen individually or together as one. Duo uses a custom pixel stack and each set of panels undergo extensive color and luminance calibration. We developed new manufacturing processes to actively align pixels across screens. The proprietary digitizer algorithms even consider when you are crossing the seam with your finger, making it feel like it’s one fluid screen. Within the dynamic 360-degree hinge, custom-designed cables connect the displays to work together, across a variety of postures.
“We designed a completely new dual-system architecture to deliver optimal performance and battery life within the thinnest, lightest design possible. Every detail, from the layout of the motherboard and multi-cell battery, to the placement of inertial sensors, mics and antennas, was purposefully designed to unlock an entirely new interaction model across two screens.
Heck of an evangelist, Mr. Panay is. And it is a convincing story that makes you want a Surface Duo.
After all, Microsoft built Surface Duo to give people a trifecta: Microsoft 365 mobile experiences, every Android app in the Google Play store, and a seamless cross-device experience with your Windows 10 PC.
The 250 gm Surface Duo runs on Android 10 but is pre-loaded with those Microsoft big hits like Office, Outlook, Teams, Edge, OneNote, OneDrive, Microsoft To Do-- all tweaked to perform on two screens.
But not 3rd party apps…they’re on their own. This is a Microsoft stage and there’s no room for bit players. Google Maps, for example, will work well on the Surface Duo but just on one screen.
It’s a Trojan racehorse trying to get inside the mind of those who prefer Android phones and extending the Windows experience. After all, Microsoft is making the big bucks these days on SaaS, subscriptions to software: if they can convert some of the Googleverse to users of Windows apps, they win.
Panay has more to say in its favor, “… with Surface Duo, we didn’t focus our energy on the places the industry is already advancing – processors and networks will get faster, and cameras will get better with or without us. Instead, we went after something. As with any new category or form factor, people will find it fits into their lives and workflows in different ways….”
This is not a phone you buy for the camera (single 11-megapixel camera—which might be either front- or rear-facing-- depending on how you hold the Duo). The Duo’s folding design precludes the superior multicamera systems on the back of phones. Good enough for videos and video conferencing but unlike OnePlus (and other phone makers) there won’t be a community of fans submitting their artsy photos to win prizes.
The Duo appeal is productivity—productivity particularly via Microsoft apps. Built-in Bill Gates appeal.
If you also buy into the attraction of twin screens on a mobile device (and I, for one, am most certainly tempted), it will be ONE MORE mobile device we carry it alongside our laptop, smartphone, iPad (or Surface plus phone). Amid the pandemic, we’re not even traveling much anymore.
CEO Satya Nadella is a first-mover Duo user and says he won’t give up his Surface laptop for it, but he might give up his phone. He expects others might just add it to their mobile work arsenal.
Will Surface Duo create a new market? Or will it just chew into existing mobile devices? Not the power workers, but you can imagine some Chromebook or laptop users who might think they have all the power they want with the Surface Duo.
Panay shows that Microsoft spirit of persevering, “As with any new category or form factor, people will find it fits into their lives and workflows in different ways. When we launched Surface Pro, not everyone believed a tablet could truly replace their laptop, until it did. It takes patience and conviction to do something different.”
Surface Duo is now available for preorder in the U.S.
But we’d need yet another screen to tell you when you’ll get it in Europe.
