What Surface Duo offers, the new Microsoft tablet

he subject of a presentation lasting more than 30 minutes, Microsoft’s alternative to foldable screen devices certainly does not disappoint, Surface Duo having behind it a software platform in which the developer has put a lot of effort.

Expected to go on sale in September for $ 1400, the Surface Duo can be considered a middle ground between conventionally designed devices and the new generation of foldable screen gadgets, the latter with many reliability issues and still too expensive for ordinary consumers.

Functionality and versatility, before the extravagant design

Operating as a hybrid between smartphone and tablet, Microsoft Surface Duo provides two identical screens, separated by a 360 ° opening hinge. But not the extravagant design is the advantage of this gadget, but the version of Android strongly modified by Microsoft for working with several applications simultaneously.

For example, you can run different applications on each screen, or expand the active application to run in dual-screen mode. Microsoft has also developed for the new product a feature called App Groups, which allows you to start groups of two applications using the same shortcut saved on the Home Screen. Alternatively, you can start a single Android application directly in dual-screen mode, choosing between horizontal or vertical display mode. Another option for applications designed to run on multi-screen devices is to display an optimized user interface when both touch screens are used. In Outlook, for example, the display on the left might display the headers of the entry, while the display on the right may show a preview of an individual message. As for Microsoft, we can expect all applications in the company’s portfolio to receive Surface Duo optimization.

The first generation Surface Duo comes with slightly outdated hardware

Long overdue and probably delayed due to software support that was simply not ready, the first generation Surface Duo arrives with a slightly outdated hardware platform, based on the Snapdragon 855 chipset and without 5G connectivity. The product lacks other trendy features, such as NFC support and wireless charging. The good news is that the software part continues to be refined using the existing hardware platform, and Microsoft is committed to offering 3 years of guaranteed firmware updates, which means that Surface Duo devices could end up receiving even Android 12, eventually .