Microsoft re-unveiled the Surface Duo and announced that it’ll be shipping on September 10th. (Pre-orders are now live, if you fancy buying one.) That means the hardware could come to market before Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2, which doesn’t have a release date just now the company has merely confirmed that it’ll be available to pre-order from September 1st.
Surface Duo features two screens connected by a 360-degree hinge. It’s meant to be an adaptable device: You can fold it up to use it like a normal smartphone, hold it open like a booklet, or splay the two screens open like a tablet. And yes, you can even use one screen as a stand to prop it up on a table. Microsoft is taking the same approach with the slightly larger Surface Neo a portable PC that’ll run Windows apps . But the Duo is the potentially more interesting device, since it marks Microsoft’s return to smartphone hardware.
Like Samsung’s high-end foldables, the Duo’s hinge and extra display will cost you. Today, Microsoft revealed that the Surface Duo will retail at $1,399, which is more expensive than many flagships including the newly-announced Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra ($1,299). For an Android convertible, though, it’s arguably a steal. The Duo is $600 cheaper than Samsung’s original Galaxy Fold and $100 less than the reborn Motorola Razr’s starting price. Samsung’s folding Z Flip is $100 cheaper than the Duo, but like the Razr, it’s a smaller device aimed at flip phone lovers.
Microsoft’s first Android phone has two 5.6-inch screens that combine into one larger 8.1-inch PixelSense Fusion display. It’s all held together by a “revolutionary 360-degree hinge” that we’re praying keeps out debris a little better than Samsung’s first Galaxy Fold. We already know that the device will be 4.8mm thick in its unfolded form. According to Microsoft, that’ll make it “the thinnest mobile device on the market,” though of course it won’t be quite as sleek when it’s folded in your pocket or bag. Still, it’s arguably the best-looking foldable that the technology industry has produced to date.
The Duo marks Microsoft’s first foray into Android hardware. Many see the Duo as a spiritual successor to Microsoft’s secretive Courier concept which was confirmed and killed in 2010. The new Android hardware was first unveiled last October alongside the Surface Neo, a foldable computer that runs Windows 10X, a new version of its PC operating system designed for dual-display machines.
You can pre-order the Surface Duo at the Microsoft Store.
