Microsoft finally unveiled pricing and
availability details on its Surface Duo foldable smartphone. The Android device
will retail for US$ 1,399 and sales tip-off next month on September 10. We also
got the rest of the spec sheet which includes two 5.6” FHD+ OLED displays with
4:3 aspect ratios, last year’s Snapdragon 855 and a 3,577mAh battery.
There’s also a single 11MP camera with
F/2.0 aperture which sits on top of the right display alongside the LED flash.
Microsoft is touting a “super zoom” feature with 7x zoom which is entirely
digital. The camera is also capable of recording 4K videos at up to 60fps and
comes with EIS.
The key selling point of the Surface Duo
is its multitasking prowess powered by Android 10 and running a customized
interface that Microsoft believes will be a game-changer for productivity on
the go. Microsoft has reworked its Office and OneDrive Android apps
specifically for the Duo and third parties like Amazon and its Kindle app are
also jumping on board to take full advantage of the hardware.
The Duo will also work with all existing
Android apps and comes with its own algorithms which can predict where you’d
like to view content and how to open new apps side by side. The 360-degree
hinge offers versatile modes and use cases and both screens come with support
for Microsoft’s Surface pens. The Duo is also pretty slim, measuring just 9.6
mm when folded. While rather small, the 3,577mAh battery is rated at 15.5 hours
of local video playback and up to 27 hours of talk time. The Duo comes with an
18W power adapter in the box.
RAM is 6GB while storage comes in 128 or
256GB varieties. Notable omissions are 5G and NFC. There's also no IP rating,
expandable memory or stereo speakers. The Surface Duo will be available in the
US across T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. It supports nano SIM + eSIM (no eSIM
on the AT&T model). International availability was not detailed.
