After Microsoft executives teased the Surface Duo smartphone for months, the company has today finally confirmed that the foldable dual-screen device will be officially launched on 10th September.
Microsoft has also revealed that the Surface Duo is priced at $1,399. The device is now up for pre-order in the United States through the company’s own online store, Best Buy, and AT&T.
The device comes with two 5.6-inch OLED displays with 1800 x 1350 pixels screen resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio. Both the displays can be connected to form an 8.1-inch device with 2700 x 1800 pixels resolution and 3:2 aspect ratio.
Under the hood, the device is powered by the older Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset, along with 6 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage. It supports 4G LTE connectivity but lacks 5G connectivity support.
In the camera department, it features an 11-megapixel camera sensor with f/2.0 aperture that includes auto modes for low-light, HDR multi-frame, and “Super Zoom” support for up to 7x. This single-camera can be used as the main camera as well as front-facing camera for video calling.
The device comes with the Android operating system and the company says that any Android app will run on it. Developers can also optimize the layouts of the app to take advantage of the two displays. Microsoft says that it has been working closely with Google on Android for the Surface Duo.
It is powered by two batteries, split underneath the display. Overcall battery capacity measures 3577mAh and the company promises an “all-day battery life”, meaning up to 15.5 hours of local video playback and 10 days of standby.
The company is also bundling a bumper cover in the box which is designed to protect this dual-screen device. It is not yet known if the charger bundled supports the fast charging feature or not.
It will be interesting to see how the Microsoft Surface Duo fares in the market where it faces competition from the likes of Samsung Galaxy Fold (or the newer Galaxy Z Fold 2) and the Huawei Mate X among others.
Considering the competition, the price for this Surface Duo doesn’t seem too high. However, the hardware offered by Microsoft is not up to the mark when compared to other similar devices in the market.
Microsoft Surface Duo Key Features
- Display: Two 5.6-inch OLED displays with 1800 x 1350 pixels screen resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio; Connected to form 8.1-inch screen with 2700 x 1800 pixels resolution and 3:2 aspect ratio
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform
- RAM: 6 GB
- Storage: 128 GB
- OS: Android
- Camera: 11-megapixel with f/2.0 aperture
- Battery: 3577mAh split into two
Pricing and Availability
- Price: $1,399
- Availability: From 10th September
