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Microsoft will launch Surface Duo, its first dual-screen Android phone on September 10. The technology company launched its last smartphone three years ago.
“Surface Duo brings together the power of Microsoft 365 experiences and the full ecosystem of Android mobile apps into one device, with two screens that you can take anywhere,” Panos Panay, Chief Product Officer at Windows + Devices, said.
The phone will have two separate 5.6-inch OLED displays (1800 x 1350) with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The two screens are connected by a 360-degree hinge to form an 8.1-inch overall workspace (2700 x 1800) and a 3:2 aspect ratio. The screens are made of Corning Gorilla Glass.
The Duo is 0.19 inches thick and weighs 250 grams. It will be the thinnest mobile device in the market. The phone will be powered by a 3577 mAh dual battery that will give buyers up to 15.5 hours video playback, 10 days standby time, and 27 hours talk time.
The phone will run on Android 10
The dual-screen phone will run on Android 10, and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor. It will have a 6GB RAM, and up to 256GB of storage; Duo does not have expandability options or SD card support.
Network and connectivity options include WiFi-5 802.11, Bluetooth 5.0 and LTE that supports 1.2Gbps download and up to 150Mbps upload speeds. The phone will not support 5G. For cellular connectivity, the phone has a nano SIM and an e-SIM; the AT&T version will not support e-SIM.
The device supports all in market generations of Surface Slim Pen, Surface Pen and Surface Hub 2 Pen. It has a fingerprint reader on the side of the device, and USB-C 3.1 port that supports fast charging.
Microsoft surface duo comes with only one 11MP f/2.0 camera, which can be used both for video calls and as a main camera.
The phone’s two distinct screens will let users open two apps side-by-side to cross-reference information, or to drag and drop images.
Users can open two apps in two distinct screens
The Duo also comes with the combination of Microsoft 365 and Android apps. It includes applications like Microsoft Edge browser, Microsoft’s SwiftKey keyboard, OneNote, Outlook and other Microsoft products.
It also has Google apps like Messages, Search, Calendar, and the full suite of stock Android apps. The smartphone is priced at $1,399, and is available for pre-order in the U.S. via MicrosoftStore.com, AT&T and BestBuy.
