Microsoft today launched its dual-screen Android device Surface Duo in what can be termed as a low-key launch. In fact may were complaining on social media that Microsoft itself didn’t respect its own embargo.
Now, coming to the Surface Duo, while the device looks good in terms of its industrial build, its steep starting price of $1399, 1-year old processor in Snapdragon 855 and low battery capacity were the things critics noticed quickly. Even the rear camera that comes without OIS came under scrutiny as for an asking price of $1399, modern smartphone users expect the most premium experience.
Microsoft also opened pre-order for the Surface Duo with a release date of September 10.
Microsoft has posted official video making use-cases for the foldable dual-screen device. Some of these use-cases do look impressive with Microsoft’s implementation.
Surface Duo looks very well-built because of its industrial design but the big bezels look imposing. Device also looks a bit big for one-handed use.
Another criticism of Surface Duo has been the number of bloatware apps from both Microsoft and Google that it comes with. Check the full Surface Duo specs below that also lists all these bloatware apps that come pre-installed.
Surface Duo Full Specs & pre-loaded bloatware:
Dimensions Open: 145.2 mm (H) x 186.9 mm (W) x 4.8 mm (T)
Closed:
145.2 mm (H) x 93.3 mm (W) x 9.9 mm (T at hinge)
Weight1 250 grams Display Dual PixelSense™ Fusion Displays open: 8.1” AMOLED, 2700×1800 (3:2), 401 PPI Single PixelSense™ Display: 5.6” AMOLED, 1800×1350 (4:3), 401 PPI
Display Material: Corning® Gorilla® Glass
Battery Life Up to 15.5 hours of Local Video Playback2 Up to 10 days of Standby Time2
Up to 27 hours of Talk Time2
Battery Capacity 3577mAh (typical) dual battery3 Battery charging Battery charging using 18W in box power supply Camera and video recording Adaptive camera 11MP, f/2.0, 1.0 µm, PDAF and 84.0° diagonal FOV optimized with AI for front and rear Photos:
Auto mode with low-light & HDR multi-frame photo capture and dynamic range scene detection
Super resolution zoom, and super zoom up to 7x
Portrait mode with adjustable depth control
Panorama mode
Burst mode
Video recording:
4K video recording at 30 fps and 60 fps
1080p video recording at 30 fps and 60 fps
HEVC and H.264 video recording formats
Gyro-based digital video stabilization
Video conferencing Microsoft Teams and Skype video conferencing up to 1080p at 30fps High CRI LED Flash for both front and world facing photo and video scenarios
Countries, carriers, and compatibility4 Countries: U.S. Unlocked device: AT&T, T-Mobile***
Locked device: AT&T
Network and connectivity WiFi: WiFi-5 802.11ac (2.4/5GHz) Bluetooth: Bluetooth® 5.0
LTE: 4×4 MIMO, Cat.18 DL / Cat 5 UL, 5CA, LAA. Up to 1.2Gbps Download / Up to 150Mbps Upload
Bands Supported:
FDD-LTE: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,12,13,14,19,20,25,26,28,29,30,66
TD-LTE: 38,39,40,41,46
WCDMA: 1,2,5,8
GSM/GPRS: GSM-850, E-GSM-900, DCS-1800, PCS-1900
Location: GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou, QZSS
SIM One eSIM5 and one Nano SIM Note: AT&T locked device will not support eSIM
Processor Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855 Mobile Platform optimized for the dual-screen experience Connections USB-C® 3.1 Storage and memory6 128GB or 256GB UFS 3.0 of internal storage6 6GB DRAM
Audio Mono speaker, Dual Mic noise suppression and echo cancellation optimized for productive use in all postures Best-in-class Full Duplex communication for voice calls in hands-free mode
Audio formats supported: 3GP, MP3, MP4, MKV, WAV, OGG, M4A, AAC, TS, AMR, FLAC, MID, MIDI, RTTL, RTX, OTA, IMY
Qualcomm® aptX™ Adaptive
Software7 Microsoft preloaded applications: Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Office Lens, PDF Reader, and more
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft OneDrive
Microsoft Edge
Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft To Do
Microsoft News
Microsoft Authenticator
Microsoft Bing Search
Intune Company Portal
Microsoft Solitaire Collection
Surface Audio
Microsoft Surface Duo UI core features:
Dual screen windowing
Adaptive modes
App Groups
Microsoft 365 Feed
Dynamic dock
Universal Search
Adaptive Camera
Microsoft SwiftKey Adaptive Keyboard
Your Phone Companion – Link to Windows
Other preinstalled apps:
Google Search
Google Assistant
Google Calendar
Google Drive
Google Duo
Google Photos
Google Play Movies & TV
Google Play Store
Google Maps
Chrome
Gmail
YouTube
YouTube Music
Contacts
Messages
Phone
Files
Clock
Calculator
Sound recorder
Spotify (Unlocked)
HBO MAX (AT&T)
AT&T TV (AT&T)
My AT&T (AT&T)
Call Protect (AT&T)
Amazon Shopping (AT&T)
NBA (AT&T)
Operating System: Android™ 10
Sensors Dual Accelerometer Dual Gyroscope
Dual Magnetometer
Dual Ambient Light Sensor
Proximity Sensor
Hall Sensor
Fingerprint Sensor
Video playback Video Playback Formats8: MKV, MOV, MP4, H.265(HEVC), AVI, WMV, TS, 3GP, FLV, WEBM Wireless: Chromecast support
Wired: DisplayPort over USB-C®. Supports video out when connecting via HDMI Adapter*
Exterior Exterior Material: Corning® Gorilla® Glass Color: Glacier
Security and authentication Biometric lock type: Fingerprint reader (1:100K FAR <3% FRR) Lock type: Swipe, PIN, password
Security applications pre-loaded on device: Microsoft Authenticator
Language support All supported languages (Android™ 10) Pen and inking Supports all in market generations of Surface Slim Pen, Surface Pen and Surface Hub 2 Pen* Simultaneous Pen and touch are supported
What’s in the box Surface Duo Surface Duo Bumper (Color: Glacier)
Surface Duo USB-C® Power Supply (18w)
Quick Start Guide
Warranty and Compliance Guide
SIM Ejector tool
Warranty9 1-year limited hardware warranty The Microsoft Store Promise for Surface 60-day return policy 90 days of free technical phone support
Free virtual workshops and training
