The pricing and the availability of the Microsoft Surface Duo foldable smartphone has finally been unveiled. The Android device will go for $1,399 and its sales is expected to kick off next month on September 10. The rest of the specs sheet was also revealed. They includes two 5.6-inch FHD+ OLED displays with 4:3 aspect ratios, last year’s Snapdragon 855 and a 3,577mAh battery.
The main selling point of the Surface Duo is its multitasking competence 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.
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 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
Microsoft Surface Duo Specifications
Network Properties
- 2G bands: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
- 3G bands: HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
- 4G bands: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 19 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 66
- Speed: HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A (CA) Cat18 1200/100 Mbps
Launch
- Announced: 2020, August 12
- Status: Exp. release 2020, September 10
Design
- Dimensions:
- Unfolded: 186.9 x 145.2 x 4.8 mm
- Folded: 145.2 x 93.3 x 9.9 mm
- Weight: 250 g (8.82 oz)
- Colors: White
- SIM: Nano-SIM, eSIM
- Stylus support
Design
- Type: AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
- Size: 8.1 inches, 195.4 cm2 (~144.2% screen-to-body ratio)
- Resolution: 1800 x 2700 pixels, 3:2 ratio (~401 ppi density)
- Protection: Corning Gorilla Glass
- Folded position display: 5.6 inches, AMOLED, 1350 x 1800 pixels (4:3)
Operating System
- Android 10
Hardware
- Chipset: Qualcomm SM8150 Snapdragon 855 (7 nm)
- CPU: Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4×1.78 GHz Kryo 485)
- GPU: Adreno 640
- Storage, RAM: 128GB 6GB RAM, 256GB 6GB RAM
- Memory Card slot: No
- UFS 3.0
Cameras
- Main Camera: Single – 11 MP, f/2.0, 23mm (wide), 1.0µm, PDAF
- Video: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS
- Selfie Camera: Single – Uses main camera
- Video: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS
Multimedia
- Radio: No
- Loudspeaker: Yes
- Audio 3.5mm jack: Unspecified
Connectivity
- WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
- Bluetooth: 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX Adaptive
- GPS: Yes, with A-GPS
- USB: 3.1, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector
Features
- Sensors: Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, proximity
Battery
- Battery Type and Capacity: Non-removable Li-Po 3577 mAh battery
- Charging: Fast charging 18W
Microsoft Surface Duo Price and Availability
The Surface Duo will be available from September 10 2020 and launches for a price of 1,399 US Dollars.
It be available in the US across T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon. It supports nano SIM + eSIM (no eSIM on the AT&T model). Its International availability was yet to be announced.