The Microsoft Surface Duo arrives in September with sky-excessive pricing

The Microsoft Surface Duo, the twin-cover smartphone unveiled final October, brought neutral news and noxious news for fervent fans in a blog put up on Wednesday. The neutral news is this might perchance well additionally neutral ship September 10. The noxious news is it’s very costly.

Microsoft can be charging $1,399 for the incorrect configuration of its twin-cover Duo with 128GB of storage (add $100 for 256GB). You’re no longer getting worthy for you cash rather than the pleasure of being first. It has final year’s high-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, perfect 6GB of RAM, a slightly little 3577mAh battery, and a single 11MP camera. It’s additionally rather heavy at 250 grams, and no longer all that pocketable at 145.2mm x 93.3mm x 9.9mm (versus 164.8 x 77.2 x 8.1mm for the Galaxy Existing 20 Extremely). It’s extra admire a little touch-cover computer than a phone, though you might perchance bellow it to make calls.

But with Android 10 onboard moderately than Windows—even a closely skinned and specified model—the Surface Duo’s competitors might perchance well well perchance be essentially the most up-to-date luxury Android telephones. On that note, the Duo costs greater than the excellent-released $1,299 Galaxy Existing 20 Extremely, even supposing it has less-highly effective specs. The Surface Slim Pen, which seems central to the expertise, costs additional and might perchance well well perchance additionally no longer be saved on the diagram. The Duo additionally doesn’t red meat up 5G, Wi-Fi 6, nor will it bask in an NFC chip for contactless payments. To start up, the Duo can be minute to United States potentialities and might perchance well well perchance additionally neutral restful work on all three major carriers.

Microsoft

Its fabricate is positively difficult, though. In need to a legit folding note, the Surface Duo opens to a pair of 1350×1800 AMOLED shows with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Together, they total 8.1 inches of cover arena and work extra admire a multi-computer screen desktop setup than a single cover. Shall we embrace, as soon as you tap a link on one aspect, it’ll open on the opposite cover. It supports a diversity of uncommon twin-cover aspects, including travel-and-tumble and damage up-cover multitasking. 

Structurally, the Surface Duo lacks an outer cover admire the Galaxy Z, so that you’ll must open it up to bellow it. There’s a 360-stage hinge for folding it relief admire a Chromebook 

The folding future

Whereas its theory might perchance well well perchance additionally bask in appeared new final year, the Surface Duo joins a rising lineup of folding telephones, including the Galaxy Z Fold 2, Galaxy Z Flip, and Motorola Razr. Additionally, the LG Velvet has a Dual Cloak accent that turns it staunch into a Surface Duo-admire diagram with a 2nd cover when opened.

On the opposite hand, Microsoft isn’t seeking to compete with the folding Android telephones of the enviornment. Calling it “the following wave of mobile productiveness,” Microsoft is touting the Surface Duo’s potential to swap between Android apps and Microsoft 365, as wisely as its real security—the firm says it wrote and reviewed “every line of firmware code in home”—as integral to the expertise. In an enterprise-oriented blog put up, Microsoft additionally pointed out the Duo’s potential to mix with Microsoft Intune for managing extra than one devices by the cloud.

Microsoft

But at the same time as an enterprise diagram, the Surface Duo has a steep mountain to climb. Serious about you might perchance well well perchance additionally catch a Surface Pro 7 for under a thousand bucks, the Surface Duo is a costly boutique diagram that doesn’t appear to be all that helpful. Even as soon as you might perchance match it on your pocket, you’ll must open it to bellow it or even undercover agent who’s calling. Its size and lack of an outer cover will make uncomplicated issues admire taking photos extra difficult than other telephones. And it stays to be seen how wisely the Duo will activity photos and movies when put next with other Android telephones, even single-camera ones admire the Google Pixel 4a.

Microsoft has constructed a diagram that plays by its possess principles, nevertheless or no longer it’s breaking plenty of the conventions we seize as a staunch along with come. 5G is no longer always in actuality a necessity yet, but this might perchance be in about a years. In a put up-Covid-19 world, no longer being in a suite to bellow your phone to make payments is going to in actuality feel antiquated. And the dearth of wi-fi charging in a $1,399 phone is a first-rate bummer.

But one thing is apparent: Microsoft is finally relief within the phone game with the Surface Duo, and Windows and Android fans alike might perchance well well perchance additionally neutral restful seize undercover agent. Despite the proven reality that they don’t comprise one true away.

The Microsoft Surface Duo is accessible for pre-explain at the present time for shipping on September 10.

Replace 2: 30pm: Clarified that the Surface Duo will additionally red meat up Verizon’s LTE network.

Michael Simon covers all issues mobile for PCWorld and Macworld. You might perchance well well perchance additionally usually catch him with his nose buried in a cover. The excellent come to bawl at him is on Twitter.