Surface duo - 9 months later, Surface Duo is cheaper than ever — and you still shouldn't buy one

Surface Duo Review: A Success For Some Of The People, All Of The Time

What I will say, however, is this is the one use case for the Surface Duo, besides simply having two apps open at a time on the dual screens, that made me recognize the absolutely massive potential this form factor possesses. However, the huge bezels and lack of cameras seem out of place in a 2020 device. However, according to sources and word on the rumor mill, Microsoft is hoping to ship Surface Duo 2 this fall, likely in the September or October time frame. When I , I made the world of Microsoft fanboys quite angry with my criticism. I do lament the lack of a high refresh rate or eye-scorching max brightness coming from my , but the Duo kept up enough that I didn't mind. Testing consisted of full battery discharge during local video playback on a single screen. Use of eSIM in Surface Duo may be disabled when purchased from some carriers. There's a surprising lack of Duo-only features in Microsoft's overlay, which often makes the Duo feel less like a complete package and more like a regular smartphone that happens to have a second screen. The camera on the front of the Duo is usable most of the time , but its quality is subpar at best and awful at its worst. The recent spate of foldable phones — most notably from Samsung — is also similar to the Microsoft Surface Duo. In his review, David faced a lot of issues with the lag, stutter, and generally slow performance. The Surface Duo initially became available on Sept. While the Surface Duo is unique, it's received mixed reviews. Xbox Cloud Gaming and Surface Duo make me see the untapped potential this form factor has. If that's you, then you'll probably really enjoy what the Duo has to offer. Your PC loves Surface Duo, too Your PC loves Surface Duo, too With the Your Phone app and your Windows 10 PC, you get instant access to everything you love on your phone, right on your computer. So with Surface Duo 2, we expect Microsoft will embrace what makes a phone a good phone, and apply those practices to Surface Duo. Everything that makes the Duo's hardware and design exceptional also contributes to its fragility and durability concerns, like plastic frames that can lead to bending and cracked charging ports. This allows you to work on a spreadsheet while watching a TV show, for example. The updated app is available now in. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. The app update allows Surface Duo owners to use a virtual gamepad on one screen of their device and games on the other. Video playback consisted of a repeated 30-minute. The and the both have optional secondary displays. While perhaps not as fancy as the top panels from Samsung and flagship devices from other companies, the screens are more than good enough for how I was using the Duo. Surface Duo V1 is available only in "Glacier White," which just isn't all that nice. Please also read our and , which became effective December 20, 2019. Despite its improvements and more palatable price, I can't recommend the Surface Duo. The Surface Duo is a unique device that some early adopters still want to get their hands on. Microsoft is currently working on the next version of its dual-screen productivity device. Microsoft's long-awaited return to smartphones, the Surface Duo, packs unending potential that just isn't met in its first generation, even after nine months of updates. I was immediately struck by the alluring elegance of the Surface Duo's hardware. The represents a ton of firsts for Microsoft. Microsoft still has to iron out some issues with dual-screens and Android, which supposedly will improve with the arrival of Android 11 hopefully arriving later this year. However, the dated hardware and high price point are negatives worth keeping in mind. If you aren't aware of what Xbox Cloud Gaming is, it's Microsoft's game streaming platform that lets you play full-blown Xbox console games on your mobile device, tablet, or PC. Despite the Duo's actual strengths and the potential in its design and form factor, it's often underutilized in this first iteration. During my time with my Duo, which I purchased myself, I've almost always enjoyed using the phone, often in ways that I don't when using traditional one-screen smartphones. Please review for important safety information about your device. The device is also available from in a locked state. Microsoft tried to position the first-generation Surface Duo as "not a phone," but that hasn't worked too well for the company. The Duo is still comfortable and immensely satisfying to open and close, from the incredible hinge to the gentle "clack" when you snap it shut. Even with hardware and software that both often feel "just good enough," Xbox Cloud Gaming and Surface Duo is a combination that could happen only because Microsoft built both of these products and brought them together in a unique way. Hah, yeah, the Surface Duo is still running Android 10. Running two different apps on the two screens is possible. The device comes with a single 11MP shooter above the inside right display. The Duo has a lot of flaws and issues, but it didn't stop me from loving the experience it gives me. The number of apps optimized for the Duo is still limited, and a buggy experience made even the useful features work poorly. What reviewers from around the web think To give you a clearer picture of the Microsoft Surface Duo, we look at what reviewers from other publications have to say about the Microsoft Surface Duo. Hardware omissions like the lack of 5G, no NFC, and most critically for me no Qi wireless charging are all features I enjoy and use on my Note 20 Ultra. Microsoft is turning its Surface Duo into a handheld Xbox today. It will ship with Android 11 out of box. We expect Surface Duo 2 to ship with typical smartphone things such as NFC, a competent camera system, the latest specs, and more. When the Surface Duo launched, one of people's biggest concerns was its price. Recently, , and the experience is genuinely impressive. I don't have exact measurements unfortunately, but I understand that the changes in shape and size are mostly unnoticeable unless you have a Duo 1 to compare side by side. I won't go too far into depth on this, as I've already discussed at length why. If you don't mind a different source, the. As the Duo is now, it's perfectly usable as my daily driver with little-to-no qualms, even if the Duo rarely solidifies itself as a unique dual-screen device and sticks to, at least for now, barely modified Android. Players can take one of the and prop up the Surface Duo like a tent or laptop for mobile Xbox gaming, or they can transform the Surface Duo into a ridiculously close rendition of the Nintendo 3DS with customizable and individually tailored touch controls positioned on the bottom display. He appreciates the attention to detail regarding the design, particularly how thin it is and how good the rotating hinge is. Software consistency still leaves some to be desired, with gestures, screens, and apps all interacting in different ways and not always in the way you expect them to. You can also put it into a tent mode or just lay it flat. As an example, you could be using Google Maps on one panel to find a local restaurant. At launch, the Surface Duo was an intriguing concept held back by unfinished software, strange hardware omissions, and a staggeringly high price tag. They suggested I was clueless, yet here we are 9 months later and Microsoft really is. Surface Duo 2 what to expect I expect the next version of Surface Duo will continue evolving the dual-screen form factor, with small tweaks the overall design of the product and bringing it more in line with other Android smartphones on the market. As someone who didn't witness the Duo first-hand when it launched, I can't comment on exactly how far things have come. Software, unfulfilled potential, and bad things Many Surface Duo skeptics may expect the "bad things" section of this article to dwarf the rest of the article by a comical amount, but collecting my thoughts on the Surface Duo has made me realize that this simply isn't the case. The full list of touch-compatible games is , and you can of course just use a regular Bluetooth or Xbox controller to stream games to the Surface Duo. This allows you to push an app from one display to another as if it were one big tablet. Before I dive head-first into my personal experience with the Surface Duo, a quick recap on its life so far. However, the dual-display abilities of those phones are very similar to what the Surface Duo can do. To my genuine surprise, I never worried about running out of juice, even with hours-long solitaire sessions, social media usage, and gaming. The combination of Microsoft apps and Microsoft Launcher have made using the Duo a pleasure 99% of the time. Microsoft is updating its Xbox Cloud Gaming xCloud app for Android, and it includes dual-screen support for the Surface Duo. Since then, Microsoft has been fairly regularly about releasing patches and firmware updates, which have seemingly improved things considerably. Aside from looking great and showing more Forza Horizon 5 gameplay, the trailer showcases the massively improved car audio for several vehicles. All settings were default, and network settings were: connected to LTE, and Wi-Fi was enabled but not connected. Available apps may vary by carrier and over time. Plus, it would make the device feel more premium but also more heavy. Where does the Surface Duo stand after nine months on the market, and should new customers still consider it? I always believe it's best to buy a product for what it offers right now, instead of what it could be in the future, and the Duo still feels unfinished nine months after launch. Despite its unorthodox shape and size, and its slightly hefty weight, the Duo is also surprisingly easy to handle and even hold in one hand although you'll practically need to use your other hand actually to use it. The Surface Duo can't be considered an endurance champion by any stretch of the imagination, but a relatively smaller battery combined with two high-resolution screens meant I fully expected the Duo to struggle to last a full day. Not all carriers support eSIM. If you want to grab the Surface Duo, now is probably the best time to pick one up. I'm going to be upfront about my thoughts on the Surface Duo. Improvements include making it easier to view content, move through menus, and the addition of columned layouts. After nine months on the market, has buying the Surface Duo as a first-time customer become more palatable? Best in class Full Duplex communication for voice calls in hands free mode. It makes the Surface Duo look more like a Nintendo 3DS than a mobile phone, with touch controls for a variety of games. Please keep a safe distance between your device and objects that are affected by magnets. The Duo has also benefited from slowly increasing accessory support, like with our list of. Take that however you feel is best. Battery life varies significantly with network and feature configuration, signal strength, settings, usage and other factors. Many Surface Duo V1 customers have complained about their USB-C ports cracking, and switching to a metal frame would fix this. I would also love to see Microsoft adopt a metal material for the frame of the device. We don't yet know much about the specific details around Surface Duo 2, but as we learn things, we'll be sure to update this post, so check back frequently! Undoubtedly, the most defining characteristic of the Microsoft Surface Duo is its dual-display format. All settings were default except Adaptive Brightness was disabled, and screen was set to 150nits. Still, many of the characteristics of the Duo that held it back nine months ago hold true today — and they're not so easy to fix. However, this is obviously very different from the Surface Duo, as you can still use the Velvet and the V60 as standalone normal phones. The first Surface Duo is basically stock Android, with no real flair in the OS done by Microsoft. The Surface Duo comes with a 3,577mAh battery that seems a tad small for a device that needs to power two screens. Despite a bent hinge and damaged battery, however, I was still immediately struck by the alluring elegance of the Duo's overall hardware package, with the physics-distorting thin frames, satisfying hinge action, and confusing mix between "this is big" and "this is smaller than I expected. You can buy the Duo unlocked directly from or a few third-party retail partners, such as. I've spent just over a month with a newly purchased Surface Duo, and have used Microsoft's experimental dual-screen device as my primary phone for just over a week. Verizon Wireless compatibility expected in September. As a longtime phone and Surface enthusiast read: nerd , I wanted to see whether the Surface Duo could feasibly become my only phone, as seen through the eyes of someone who hasn't owned the Duo since it launched nine months ago. These are far more attractive prices and can be tempting even to people who weren't necessarily looking at the Duo for their next phone. Surface Duo currently runs Android 10 with a very gentle coating of Microsoft layered on top and Microsoft Launcher as the default home screen. The software weaknesses, on the other hand, could potentially be fixed as the Duo continues to receive platform and security updates. Surface Duo 2 may break ground this September or October, so we also don't have long to wait. Available storage is subject to change based on system software updates and apps usage. Details here: — Tom Warren tomwarren The benefits of a dual-screen device for this type of mobile experience are obvious. I've used the Surface Duo for over a month now and carefully evaluated its worth as a productivity device and mobile smartphone. If you're not intimately familiar with the experience Surface Duo promises, this is a not-so-traditional Android cellular device that combines two 5. Battery life varies significantly with network and feature configuration, signal strength, settings, usage, and other factors. Testing consisted of full battery discharge during active use scenarios and a power drain measurement in Suspend. Woot's sale on the Surface Duo is only available today and could end soon if supplies sell out. If anything truly came out of the left field, it's on the Duo. The only issue I have is that occasionally you can't be fully certain that the phone will behave the way you think it will when you switch between screens, change postures, rotate, or move apps around. For me, at least, the Duo is a solid one-day phone that didn't have me constantly reaching for a charger. It has its flaws, but people who want one know who they are. Surface Duo V1 uses plastic, which is fine, but it can yellow over time and isn't as structurally sound as metal. The overall shape and size of the Surface Duo is expected to remain similar to the first Surface Duo. After weeks of using the Duo as much as I can, some things haven't changed. Finally, I want more colors for Surface Duo 2. Software is arguably an even more important contributor to my decision to relegate the Duo to a secondary device. Text and take calls from your PC Text and take calls from your PC With the Your Phone app and your Windows 10 PC, you get instant access to everything you do on your phone, right on your computer. I'd also love to see official support for the Surface Slim Pen that includes magnets and wireless charging so that I can carry the pen with me. Nine months after its launch, the Surface Duo is undeniably in a far better position than it was at first, with improved availability, a superior price point, and apparently noticeably better software and stability. I found that colors are plenty vivid and contrast is great, and I never thought the Duo's screens weren't "sharp" enough with their suitably high resolution. Much of what was said in our initial still rings true, more or less — the Duo's hardware failings aren't going to be resolved at this point, and even the software isn't guaranteed to be improved in the future. It's clear that software updates have improved Microsoft's first foray into dual-screen phones, judging from initial reviews, and the hardware is still very impressive nine months on even with a spec sheet that was arguably outdated at launch. It would be great to see new pen features, or unique Microsoft productivity enhancements come to Android on Surface Duo 2. You can close the whole device up like a book, which will protect the inner 5. Right now, you can pick up the. Battery has limited recharge cycles and cannot be replaced. The phones that are most like the Surface Duo are the latest dual-screen devices from LG. He appreciates the concept though, and believes that dual-screen devices will be beneficial in a work environment. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Dual screens, the hinge, and good things I can't profess to have had a perfect first experience with the Surface Duo since my first device was defective and unusable out of the box. Microsoft has issued several updates to it on an almost-monthly basis, but almost all have been to fix up the awful software experience the device originally shipped with. Microsoft has been rolling out software updates to address these problems and the experience is better now. You can also fold it out like a little laptop and type on a virtual keyboard while leaving the top display clutter-free. If you're truly interested in the Surface Duo and are a tech or phone enthusiast, like I am, you may find the Duo's recent price cuts to be too attractive to pass up. Microsoft has also tweaked the rest of the Xbox Cloud Gaming to work better on the Surface Duo. If you like, you can also swing open the whole thing 360-degrees, so each display is back-to-back. It's both the first dual-screen device and first Android phone to be released by Microsoft, and concludes a long hiatus following the cancelation of the unfortunately maligned Windows phones. Despite its improvements and more palatable price tag, it's likely not worth it for most people. And, yet, I still can't recommend the Surface Duo wholeheartedly. Even without being a modern powerhouse flagship under the hood, the Duo still holds on to its title as "multitasking king. Overall, Microsoft positions the Surface Duo and its unique blend of features and hardware as the "ultimate productivity device," rather than your average mobile smartphone. During his testing, he faced numerous issues, from the phone getting stuck on the unlock screen to swipes and taps not registering properly. If dual-screen or foldable devices ever catch on, this is a far superior way to play Xbox games without a dedicated controller. It has, for the most part, held up Microsoft's promise of monthly software updates, culminating most recently with the. We're expecting massively updated hardware with Duo's successor, and Android 11 is expected to bring much-needed enhancements to the software experience. Surface Duo 2 release date Microsoft has not yet announced Surface Duo 2, so we don't have official word on when it will ship. I also hope to see a better focus on unique and first-party OS features built by Microsoft. These hardware complaints are things that can be resolved only with future sequels to the Surface Duo. Our Zachary Boddy recently wrote a piece on. Codenamed Zeta, we believe Surface Duo 2 will launch in the second half of this year, likely in the September or October timeframe, and feature the latest specs, more features, and be a better smartphone overall. If you're looking for your next phone and are willing to wait, however, I recommend holding off to see what the has to offer. Calling requires data plan; see carrier for pricing and coverage details. I can say the Duo has been mostly great on the software front, with good performance and only a handful of noticeable bugs only a few more than my Note 20 Ultra, at least. All settings were default except Adaptive Brightness was disabled, and screen was set to 150 nits. Launch-era Duo was plagued with a myriad of flaws, issues, and software-related bugs that detracted from the experience, and stability and consistency were real issues for early adapters. I'm told that Surface Duo 2 will ship with the latest flagship SoC for 2021, which presumably means it will have a Snapdragon 888 SoC with 5G capabilities. Surface Duo 2 what I want to see I would love to see a Surface Duo 2 with more RAM choices, with 8GB RAM being the standard and 12GB RAM for those who want to splash out with more headroom for multitasking across both displays. That being said, after this article is published, I will most likely be returning to my Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. Microsoft has been steadily adding Xbox Touch Controls to more than 50 games in recent months, including titles like Sea of Thieves, Gears 5, and Minecraft Dungeons. I also hear that it will feature NFC for wireless payments, an external camera system with a bump for better photography, slightly bigger displays with rounded corners, and slightly thinner bezels for a more streamlined fit and finish. To learn more or opt-out, read our. I adore this phone, and I really have been loving my time with it. Eyes and ears Forza Horizon 5 has grabbed a new gameplay trailer that shows some of the highlights of yesterday's audio-focused stream, but without commentary. Some features, including drag and drop between screens, available in supported apps only. I'd love to see a Poppy Red, Ice Blue, Platinum, and Black color option. Unlike single-screened devices, the Microsoft Launcher on the Surface Duo was made to accommodate the dual displays. Another pleasant surprise was how the Duo's "outdated" spec sheet don't worry, I'm not here to throw a bunch of numbers at you , featuring an aging two-year-old processor and a middling amount of RAM for multitasking compared to modern smartphones, managed to more than keep up with everything I threw at the Duo, including regularly running two apps at a time and quickly switching between different apps. The active use scenarios excluded cell calls and included both single screen and dual screen scenarios, consisting of 1 a web browsing test accessing 8 popular websites over multiple open tabs, 2 productivity tests utilizing Microsoft Teams audio and video calls and Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook, 3 sending and receiving SMS text messages, and 4 streaming a video through the YouTube app.。

Surface duo - 9 months later, Surface Duo is cheaper than ever — and you still shouldn't buy one

Surface Duo Review: A Success For Some Of The People, All Of The Time

The Surface Duo keeps getting cheaper. What does that mean for Microsoft's mobile strategy?

The Surface Duo keeps getting cheaper. What does that mean for Microsoft's mobile strategy?

Microsoft has turned the Surface Duo into a handheld Xbox

The Surface Duo keeps getting cheaper. What does that mean for Microsoft's mobile strategy?

No, You Don't Want the Surface Duo Even at This Crazy Price

Surface Duo â€“ Dual