There’s no denying that Microsoft’s new Surface Duo has the wow-factor. A waif-like clamshell of soft-touch metal, that smoothly hinges open to reveal not one
There’s no denying that Microsoft’s new Surface Duo has the wow-factor. A waif-like clamshell of soft-touch metal, that smoothly hinges open to reveal not one but two touchscreens – complete with Surface Pen support – it’s hard not to look at it and think of a sci-fi movie prop. Yet Microsoft aims to put its futuristic gizmo on sale next month. Of course, it’s right at that point where you run head-first into the Surface Duo’s problems. $1,400 for the cheapest model puts it resolutely in flagship smartphone territory, and sure enough you can use the Android-powered device for phone calls and messaging too. Only on 4G LTE networks, however, rather than 5G. It’s not the only strange decision on Microsoft’s part, either: using Qualcomm’s older Snapdragon 855 chipset, for example, feels out of place, as does opting for a single,11-megapixel camera. With a total battery capacity smaller than what you’d find in a first-generation Samsung Galaxy Fold, and no wireless charging to keep it easily topped up, you’d be forgiven for asking yourself if the Surface team simply wasn’t aware of what the rest of the Android phone world had been up to. The reality is that, for all its gut-reaction appeal, Surface Duo is more about software than hardware. It’s a description you could level at Microsoft as a whole, indeed. The company has stoked its fortunes in recent years by spreading its software far and wide, looking beyond simply making products for its own Windows OS, and seemingly figuring that if rival platforms are going to be out there, then they might as well run Office while they’re at it. Set aside the mixed-bag of hardware, and Surface Duo’s real intrigue is the way it coaxes Android into something a little in line with the old Courier concept people remember so fondly.
