Microsoft Surface Duo review: A beautiful, bewildering phone
Our Verdict
The Microsoft Surface Duo feels truly innovative in how it's built to aid you lot get things washed, merely its myriad software inconsistencies, outdated hardware and subpar camera — all for an exorbitant toll — betray its inspired design.
For
- Gorgeous, practical dual-screen design
- Intuitive gestures
- Pairing apps unlocks potential
Against
- Crippling software glitches
- Poor camera
- Underwhelming performance
- Expensive when not on sale
- No 5G
Tom's Guide Verdict
The Microsoft Surface Duo feels truly innovative in how it's built to help you get things done, just its myriad software inconsistencies, outdated hardware and subpar camera — all for an exorbitant price — beguile its inspired design.
Pros
- +
Gorgeous, applied dual-screen design
- +
Intuitive gestures
- +
Pairing apps unlocks potential
Cons
- -
Crippling software glitches
- -
Poor camera
- -
Underwhelming performance
- -
Expensive when not on sale
- -
No 5G
Microsoft Surface Duo specs
Price: $1399 (MSRP) / $699 (Current)
OS: Android 10
Display: Two 5.half dozen-inch AMOLED (1800x1350); 8.i inches combined
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
RAM: 6GB
Storage: 128GB/256GB
microSD slot: None
Photographic camera: 11MP (ƒ/2.0)
Battery: 3,577 mAh
Size (airtight): 5.71 ten 3.67 x 0.39 inches
Size (open):five.71 x seven.35 x 0.18 inches
Weight: 8.eight ounces
The Microsoft Surface Duo is a beautiful tragedy. I've never been simultaneously enamoured and frustrated with a phone, even if information technology feels a little unfair to telephone call the Surface Duo a 'phone' in the purest sense of the word. The reality is it's a productivity powerhouse that just happens to exist able to handle calls and text messages.
When you recollect about things that way, information technology's easy to phone call the Surface Duo a success. Information technology's capable of things no other phone can do efficiently. Merely at the same fourth dimension it struggles with some of the basics. Software is glitchy thanks to the dual-screen design, camera functioning is mediocre, and it packs in a bunch of outdated hardware. Thursday phone may well be crafted meticulously, but that toll tag is still astronomically high.
- Microsoft Surface Duo 2 review: Vastly improved and notwithstanding flawed
- The all-time foldable phones you lot can buy
The overall result is a charming handset that is nonetheless hard to recommend. While it's a little besides rough around the edges to be able to merits a identify on our list of the best phones, our Microsoft Surface Duo review showcases what makes this one of the near curious devices of recent times.
Microsoft Surface Duo review: Toll and release date
The Surface Duo is on sale now, though if you want to be able to buy it on contract you'll have to become through AT&T. If you want to accept the telephone to Verizon or T-Mobile, you'll have to selection up one of the unlocked models.
Originally the Surface Duo would have fix yous back $1,399, and for that you go a device with 128GB of storage and no microSD card slot for expandable memory. If you wanted double that capacity, it would take gear up you back $i,499.
That said, Microsoft has made some hefty price cuts on this phone since the start of the year. Information technology dropped to $1,000 ahead of the phones international release, and dropped down to $699 this past May. That's over 50% off the original toll, and the 128GB model is still bachelor at that discounted price point. The 256GB model is a slightly more expensive $749.
Of course that volition simply buy you last year's model. With the Surface Duo ii starting at $ane,499, you want to choice upwards one of those instead. Not merely does it have a faster Snapdragon 888 processor, information technology too packs in a agglomeration of features the original Surface Duo lacked, similar Surface Slim Pen 2 support, and new, more versatile, design.
Microsoft Surface Duo review: Design
The Surface Duo looks dull in pictures, it has to be said. In an historic period of devices with flexible displays, the Duo has two separate, conventional v.6-inch Gorilla Glass-shrouded panels with gigantic bezels. The phone's exterior is clad in white painted glass with a matte white frame, and all that exists to interruption that up is the stainless-steel double-butt hinge and similarly-mirrored Microsoft logo.
Merely so yous concord the Surface Duo, and in spite of this drab and somewhat dated motif, information technology feels incredibly special.
A lot of that has to do with just how phenomenally slender the Surface Duo is. At only iv.8 millimeters thin, Microsoft'due south dual-screen phone is about as thick when close as the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra when you gene in the enormous photographic camera crash-land on Samsung's device. As smartphones have gotten progressively more than circuitous over the past decade, phone makers have had to concede thinness to fit larger batteries and antenna arrays for faster data speeds.
Returning to a device of wafer-like proportions like the Surface Duo rekindled an amazement in compact mobile technology I oasis't felt in quite a long time. (Though I'd notwithstanding appreciate a fiddling less bezel around the brandish.)
Information technology helps likewise that the build quality is impeccable. For such a slim phone, the Surface Duo feels remarkably sturdy and balanced no thing how you hold or orient it. The hinge strikes the perfect midpoint between being rigid and resistant enough to remain in identify when tented up on a table, while besides being smooth and compliant plenty to pry open up easily. In that location's a pleasing muffled clap to shutting the Surface Duo, rather than the glass-on-glass snap you might expect; it's but a joy to physically interact with, from start to end, and it'due south that attention to detail that kept me eager to utilize information technology during the review phase.
The Surface Duo feels incredibly special, and a lot of that has to practice with how phenomenally slender this design is.
All that said, the Surface Duo'south proportions do come with a few drawbacks, regardless of how good the device might feel in manus. The slenderness of this device meant Microsoft had nowhere to fit wireless charging or NFC coils for tap-and-pay transactions — two features y'all'd surely expect on a $i,400 phone. It also ways the device has a difficult time staying cool when put through its paces. When the Surface Duo is being strained — if you lot're in a video telephone call, for instance, and both screens are on — y'all can experience information technology complain right then and there, as the back heart of the correct one-half of the device heats upward awfully quick.
Additionally, given its width (the Surface Duo is seven-tenths of an inch wider than the Galaxy Notation 20 when closed) this is not a device that's natural to carry around in a front pocket. Thus, you might naturally call up to stash it in your back pocket, though I wasn't comfy doing that either considering of how far the top of the phone stuck out of my jeans. For how hard Microsoft clearly worked to make the Surface Duo every bit compact every bit it is, it'due south still unwieldy at times.
The dual-brandish design makes the Surface Duo well suited for multitasking or interacting with two apps at in one case.
Oh, and 1 more design oddity: Microsoft is generous enough to include a bumper case in the box with the Surface Duo, which should exist manufacture-standard practice with devices that cost this much. Nevertheless, be sure to take care when applying it. I say "apply" because the bumper doesn't merely snap around the edges of the phone; it's a rubbery silicone jacket with peel-abroad adhesive encircling the inner grooves. It'southward easy enough to put the case on; just be aware that after you do, you won't desire to accept it off, unless you're willing to trounce out money for a replacement. The bumper also collects lint like nobody's business organization.
Microsoft Surface Duo review: Displays
Critics may lament Microsoft's decision to become with 2 v.half-dozen-inch AMOLED screens on the Surface Duo rather than one big bendy ane, but in that location are reasons for the approach. Aside from all the obvious benefits to durability and price-saving, equally well as the fact Microsoft wants the Surface Duo to stand up up to the rigors of its Surface Pen, the dual-display design makes this device better suited for multitasking or interacting with two apps at once to complete tasks more swiftly.
Microsoft prefers to envision each of the Duo's displays every bit natural windows, which is certainly the nearly intuitive manner I've ever heard a visitor pitch a device with multiple screens. In this sense, the gap presented past the hinge doesn't really matter, because for the most part, the user isn't really encouraged to spread a single app across ii disparate panels anyway.
The merely scenario in which using both screens for one window is particularly useful is when turning the Surface Duo on its side. In that pose, the two 4:3, 5.6-inch displays comprise one viii.1-inch canvas that takes on a narrower aspect ratio, making it very accommodating for scrolling through webpages or social media feeds.
Nevertheless, I accept some qualms with Microsoft'due south insistence on 4:3 screens: most Android apps aren't built to put wider aspect ratios to good apply, and so you terminate up with a lot of extraneous space in Spotify and Slack, to proper noun two apps. Typing is fabricated easier by the fashion Microsoft breaks upward its Swiftkey keyboard for one-handed utilise, depending on which side you're approaching information technology from. However, the keyboard becomes a little too wide and cumbersome when holding the Surface Duo sideways (in an orientation I like to telephone call "Nintendo DS-style"), where the text field is partitioned off to the upper panel equally you type on the bottom 1.
The 4:3 aspect ratio also isn't conducive to watching media, resulting in a lot of blackness bordering in YouTube. That said, your content will withal look good on either of the Surface Duo's 1800 10 1350 displays, as Microsoft has gone to cracking lengths to ensure that the color temperature and brightness of both screens is equally close to identical as possible. Indeed, I noticed no departure in the presentation of apps, videos and games across both of the Duo's screens.
That'south an important detail to reiterate, because console variation tends to be a persistent and hard-to-eliminate trouble for dual-screen hardware, similar the LG V60 ThinQ 5G. Under our light meter, we measured pinnacle brightnesses for 458 nits on the left display and 461 nits on the right. Colors are also very shut, with the Duo rendering 133.9% and 132% of the sRGB color space on the left and right panels, alongside Delta-East color accurateness ratings of 0.26 and 0.28, respectively.
That's in line with other superlative-rated devices, like the Galaxy Annotation twenty Ultra, which notched 121.5% and 0.24 in those tests. Information technology's worth noting, withal, that the Note gets much brighter, peaking at 662 nits, and besides features a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate for smoother animations — something you won't notice on Microsoft's telephone.
Microsoft Surface Duo review: What'south skillful most the software
Opening apps, placing them where y'all want and running them next in harmony — this is where the Surface Duo shines.
No matter how nice the Surface Duo feels to hold, or how pretty its displays look, the software experience was e'er going to brand or interruption this phone. While Google has updated Android over the years with provisions for flexible and multi-screen devices, this is still an operating system that, at its cadre, isn't really intended for anything like what Microsoft is trying to do here.
When the Surface Duo works, information technology really does work. I love how simple and intuitive Microsoft has made the organisation for moving apps between the displays. Each screen has its own gesture navigation bar, as is common in many Android phones. However, when an app is open in 1 screen, you tin can pull up from that bar and movie the app over to the other panel if y'all'd rather have information technology there, or place information technology between both screens to extend information technology beyond. You can also pull up the Recents page — an overview of all your running software — and shuffle apps from side-to-side from that interface besides.
Opening apps, placing them where you lot want and running them side by side, in harmony — this is where the Surface Duo shines. Like on Samsung's foldables, you can create shortcuts that open up two apps of your choosing together; you tin can fifty-fifty select which sides they default to. I quickly fabricated this a part of my forenoon routine, setting Microsoft News and Slack to open up simultaneously and then I could catch up with the day'south news while besides discussing topics to embrace with my colleagues.
The Surface Duo is also 1 of a pocket-sized all the same growing number of Android phones (the others being recent Samsung models) that support both Link to Windows and phone screen mirroring via Windows 10's Your Phone app. With Your Telephone on desktop, you tin can reply to texts, view notifications, browse your device's storage and media gallery and even navigate information technology, all from your PC. Information technology'south a nice power play from Microsoft to bring some cross-platform integration between Windows and Android, though the screen mirroring feature has proven rather laggy and low-resolution in my experience, no matter whether I was using the Surface Duo or the Samsung Milky way Annotation twenty.
Microsoft has too punched up its own Android apps, like Outlook, OneDrive and OneNote, to accept advantage of the Surface Duo'south unique form gene. If you extend Outlook across both of the Duo's displays, it will cleverly proceed a view of your inbox on the left side, while allowing y'all to read one selected e-mail in particular on the correct.
If you and so begin a response and flip the device sideways, the keyboard will accept over the bottom portion, while the etch field will reside upwards pinnacle. Dragging and dropping text and images even works across screens (provided you're using Microsoft's apps, anyway). Indeed, the Surface Duo tin can exist very slick when it wants to be.
The Surface Duo also supports touchscreen controls for certain games on Xbox Game Pass. While we oasis't tested this feature, information technology does hateful that y'all can stream uniform games to the telephone and apply it like a Nintendo DS.
Microsoft Surface Duo review: What'southward bad almost the software
Only therein lies the problem. When the Surface Duo reacts to your actions in predictable, helpful ways, you lot meet the potential in it. Suddenly, that whole concept of "flow" that Microsoft has been proselytizing — navigating seamlessly through tasks on a pocketable device, without forcing you to relocate to a PC or tablet for duties that are simply besides elaborate for a phone — seems like much more than marketing fluff.
All too often, though, the Surface Duo does non respond predictably. Sometimes that'south due to obtrusive design, but information technology's mostly the result of crippling, ceaseless glitches.
My Surface Duo exhibits lag about half the times I return to the home screen. Sometimes, apps and widgets volition take moments to redraw, and in other circumstances they'll be present, albeit unresponsive to taps or swipes for upwardly of five seconds. Swiping up to return home from one app or summoning the keyboard often moves and repositions the app on the other display unintentionally. Even the wallpaper on my review unit occasionally disappears, only to be replaced by solid black. Locking and unlocking the device brings it back.
The SwiftKey keyboard is a particular source of consternation. It'south oftentimes unstable and occasionally resizes itself from my preset preference since the terminal time I used it. In one especially annoying use instance, if I'm belongings the Surface Duo sideways with the entire lesser brandish used for typing, the keyboard frequently disappears without alert as I'chiliad actively borer away on information technology.
All as well often, the Surface Duo does not respond predictably, and it's mostly the upshot of crippling, incessant glitches.
The Surface Duo can exist folded with its screens out, then it becomes more of a traditional, candybar-fashion device you can almost apply with one hand. In these instances, the UI is designed so that the user tin can double tap the opposite display if they desire to turn the device over for any reason.
Unfortunately, in my feel, the double tap action rarely works as intended because the screen you don't want to use lacks palm rejection — so even when you lot flip the Surface Duo over, it thinks the panel facing away from you is however actively beingness used, and won't relinquish control to the other side.
Even Google's mainstay Android apps, like YouTube and Google Duo (the video conversation client, not to be confused with this phone) are hands flummoxed past the Surface's complexity. Turning the device to mural way while YouTube is open but a video isn't expanded to full-screen mode will cause the narrow, 4:three orientation of the app to bear witness in a mural space. In other words, the app doesn't resize itself to better fit the wider crop — it just rotates the exact aforementioned window 90 degrees, thus but using about 50% of the total real estate of the screen.
The list of full general nuisances and bugs goes on and on — and none of those even affect upon the most concerning unintended behavior I discovered with our review unit of measurement.
After a few days of using the Surface Duo, I noticed the phone no longer automatically locked itself and went to sleep when I closed it shut. Perplexing though this was on its own (it turned out a manufactory reset was necessary to fix information technology correct), it led to far more than serious troubles down the line.
One day, every bit I threw the Surface Duo into my bag for a petty photography journey, the device's photographic camera must have launched; I either inadvertently opened the camera myself by double tapping the power key, or it managed to fire up on its own. Regardless, when I pulled the device out of my backpack two hours later, it was piping hot. The photographic camera had presumably been on for two hours, reducing the battery level from 60% to twenty%, all while the device was shut. The phone was so scorching, I could barely touch information technology; truth exist told, I don't remember I've ever handled a device that hot before.
These are the sorts of issues that drag the Surface Duo downwards, transforming it from a genuinely innovative and applied exercise in design to an unrelenting series of unexpected frustrations. To its credit, Microsoft did push out one firmware update during my time with the telephone, and while information technology seems to accept made app positioning and changing screen orientation a bit more reliable, the majority of those other qualms haven't been stamped out. Weirdness tin can still happen, like when turning the device sideways while watching a YouTube video.
Of course, these glitches should exist fixable, and Microsoft has also expressed a want to add basic functionality to the Surface Duo that isn't present at the time I'm writing this review. For example, a double tap to wake characteristic isn't supported on our review unit, though the visitor says it will deliver the capability soon.
Similarly, in that location'southward no action push button or shortcut to flip screens while using the camera. (As I'll later explicate, this is important because the Surface Duo has just i lens, that serves both out-facing and selfie duties depending on how y'all're holding the telephone.) Rather, the device is just supposed to know where to put the viewfinder based on input from its motion sensors, though that approach doesn't always piece of work in exercise. The Surface Duo development squad tells us it's sorting this out as well.
Nevertheless, none of this instills conviction, considering both the Surface Duo'south high toll as well as the fact that at that place are several other expensive phones on the marketplace that don't endure these hang ups. You can spend upwards of a m and a half on Microsoft'due south hope of productivity, but it won't buy you peace of mind.
Microsoft Surface Duo review: Performance
When the Surface Duo was announced in late 2019 with a Snapdragon 855 processor at the helm, many people understandably assumed Microsoft would update the device's chipset during development with the then stillhoped-for released Snapdragon 865. That chip would have also given the Surface Duo the power to run on 5G cellular networks.
Nonetheless, that never came to pass. Thus, the Surface Duo enters the crowded fray of 2020 flagship phones with silicon that's over a yr old, as well as just 6GB of RAM, which is admittedly on the low end of the spectrum past today's standard of premium handsets. Consider that the Note twenty Ultra packs twice the RAM that the Surface does, alongside a much faster Snapdragon 865 Plus CPU, even though Samsung's device has only one screen and less of a multitasking camber.
At present, the old 855 chip isn't wearisome, but it'south also not blisteringly quick anymore when compared to other phones you can purchase for this money. Couple that with the software gremlins already discussed, and the Duo simply doesn't feel quite as snappy every bit you lot'd hope. Funnily enough, playing games is thoroughly pleasant, as the Adreno 640 GPU in the 855 is notwithstanding adept plenty to ensure a decently smooth experience playing graphically-demanding titles like Asphalt 9 Legends.
- More: Microsoft Surface Duo is groovy for Game Pass, but it sucks at just about everything else
Where the Surface Duo bogs down are those occasions when yous're repositioning the device while two apps are going at once. Changing orientations and moving between unmarried-screen and dual-screen modes can either occur without a hitch, or transpire in a delayed, clunky way. This of form could be chalked upwardly to more of a software optimization outcome than a hardware one, merely it all contributes to the perception of performance even so.
In terms of benchmarks, the Surface Duo's multi-core Geekbench v score of two,862 points is afar from the Note 20 Ultra'due south 3,294 upshot, as well every bit the iPhone 11 Pro Max'due south 3,500 score. Turning to graphics, the Surface totaled 1,073 frames in GFXBench's Aztec Ruins test for high-tier devices, at 17 frames per second. That likewise paled in comparison to the Notation 20 Ultra (1,455 frames) and iPhone 11 Pro Max (1,657 frames).
Again, the omission of a newer Qualcomm chipset means that the Surface Duo isn't time to come-proofed for 5G — whether you lot're talking near long-range networks, like sub-6GHz 5G, or the much faster, short-range millimeter-wave infrastructure in cities. At the moment, that's not a huge loss; 5G isn't ubiquitous or performing well enough to actually justify buying a particular device for its 5G back up alone. That said, if you're considering picking up a Surface Duo, information technology stands to reason you want to squeeze out more than a few years from your $ane,400 phone. 5G might not thing much today, simply that probably won't ring true come up 2022 or 2023.
Microsoft Surface Duo review: Camera
Microsoft'southward imaging hardware and software simply tin't extract the vividity or sharpness you'd probably expect from the camera in a $one,400 smartphone.
If you're hopelessly searching the Surface Duo's exterior for some kind of elaborate assortment of lenses, equally then many other premium handsets tend to have these days, I regret to inform you lot Microsoft'southward taken a considerably low-primal arroyo to cameras. In that location's but one 11-megapixel, ƒ/2.0 camera located above the correct half of this dual-screen phone, and that's the camera yous use whether you're shooting a vast landscape or an impromptu selfie.
Now, that might sound like cause for thwarting, and indeed, with only i tiny 11MP lens, the Surface Duo obviously won't pull off a caliber of photography that will embarrass the Galaxy Note xx Ultra or any one of the other best photographic camera phones we've tested. That said, the Surface Duo'southward humble shooter tin can punch in a higher place its weight on occasion.
Peradventure the best example of that is the prototype of a bloom above, captured with the Surface Duo. While it took many attempts earlier I ended up with a result that was properly in focus, the detail on brandish in the petals and the nuance with which Microsoft'due south telephone captured the diverse shades of pink and white produced a shot that's more visually engaging and realistic than the Milky way Note 20'due south oversaturated version of things.
Merely it isn't all praise for the Duo. The further you zoom in, the more you begin to notice graininess pervading darker areas of the frame likewise as the background. And speaking of the groundwork, the Note 20 surprised with a stunning natural depth-of-field effect that wasn't intentional, merely is nevertheless very pretty. The Surface Duo couldn't match it, fifty-fifty when I attempted to use Portrait Mode.
As it turns out, Portrait Fashion on the Surface Duo needs to recognize faces to work consistently; you can't just use it to accept a dramatic bokeh shot of anything. Still, even when I used it to accept a selfie, I was underwhelmed. The Duo appears to favor cool, dreary colors, compared to the iPhone'due south tinge of warmth and Samsung's penchant for punching upward hues. I'm a relatively pale private, but there'due south a bit more than life within me — non to mention the greenery behind me — than Microsoft's camera would take y'all think. The blurring around my pilus is likewise clearly inconsistent through the Duo'south lens, while the iPhone xi Pro does a better job of gradually fading the foreground into the groundwork.
Sadly, things don't get ameliorate for the Surface Duo from here. This comparison of shots from a river demonstrates how Microsoft's imaging hardware and software but can't excerpt the vividity or sharpness you'd probably expect from the camera in a $1,400 smartphone. And while you could argue that that's non actually the purpose of the Surface Duo, when devices like the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra are cheaper and photographic camera quality is a major consideration for the vast bulk of telephone shoppers, y'all can't overlook it, either.
From inside a covered bridge, it'south clear to see the Surface duo exhibits trouble resolving the sunlight outside in this challenging scene. The Note 20 meliorate balances the highlights in improver to the shadows within the span, pulling out impressive sharpness, clarity and color from the wooden beams above.
The Surface Duo doesn't accept an optical zoom lens, nor does information technology capture enough megapixels to emulate lossless zoom with sensor cropping solitary. Microsoft too hasn't gifted this phone with a software-based solution like Google's Super Res Zoom, and thus, the Surface Duo is woefully under-equipped when shooting from far away. The Note 20'due south digital zoom can be cranked all the way upward to 30x, but the Surface Duo's tops out beneath 10x (an exact value isn't provided in Microsoft's camera app.) Alas, even at a distance of 10x for the Note twenty and an estimated 8x for the Surface Duo, the rendition from Samsung'southward camera is infinitely clearer thank you to the Galaxy's higher megapixel count and smarter zoom algorithms.
Lastly, we turn to the Surface Duo's performance in low light, which is unfortunately quite limited as this device doesn't accept a night mode like you find on countless other flagship handsets these days. This comparing serves equally an illustration of what you miss out on.
At the time these photos were taken, dusk hadn't entirely ended even so, and then there was still a bit of light in the sky for both devices to work with. The Annotation 20 churned out a gorgeous result, incorporating the light from the streetlamp illuminating the leaves of the tree above as well equally the shine of the pavement. It's plainly to see that none of these plaudits ring true for the Duo's shot.
Regardless of how middling or disappointing the Surface Duo's photography is, what's even more frustrating is the user experience inside the photographic camera app. As stated before, the Surface Duo tin can exist comically terrible at guessing what screen you'd like the viewfinder on, and thus, what management yous're attempting to shoot in. The only way to endeavour to change it is to turn the phone over, though that doesn't ever produce the intended response. By the fourth dimension yous've got the camera pointed in the proper direction — which even in the best case scenario, delays movie taking by a 2d or 2 — it'southward quite possible yous've missed your shot. I'd much rather Microsoft simply employed a transmission switch button in the interface instead.
Microsoft Surface Duo review: Battery life and charging
Keeping both of the Surface Duo's large displays lit is a 3,577-mAh battery that'south actually split into ii units on each half of the device. That'south a somewhat impressive size, given how thin this phone is, only it'south as well not a lot of juice compared to what other flagships are packing. The Galaxy Annotation 20 Ultra has a 4,500-mAh bombardment, and fifty-fifty the ability-sipping iPhone 11 Pro Max has a greater capacity, at a shade under 4,000 mAh.
Therefore, we didn't look the Surface Duo to concluding especially long through Tom's Guide'south custom battery examination, where devices are tasked with endlessly refreshing spider web pages until they run out of juice, over an LTE connection and while set to 150 nits of screen brightness.
Given the Surface Duo'south unique setup, nosotros ran the test in 2 configurations: twice with only one brandish agile, and twice again with both screens lit. In unmarried brandish manner, Microsoft's device averaged ix hours and 27 minutes. That fell to seven hours and 7 minutes in dual-brandish manner. Both pale in comparison to the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (ten:26 in 60Hz mode; 7:59 in 120Hz manner) and the iPhone xi Pro Max (11:54).
The Surface Duo incorporates 18-watt USB Power Delivery charging which, coupled with the somewhat small size of the battery, helps Microsoft's handset reach 49% from empty in 30 minutes. Some flagships, similar the $899 OnePlus 8 Pro, tin can hit half capacity a chip more quickly, but require proprietary charging bricks and cables to exercise it.
Microsoft Surface Duo review: Should you still buy 1?
It'due south been almost a year since Microsoft launched the Surface Duo, and in that time the toll has dropped pretty heavily. The question is, is information technology notwithstanding worth ownership the phone later all this time? The obvious reply is that you probably shouldn't.
With the Surface Duo ii at present hither, and with a $one,499 cost, Microsoft has taken the best parts of the Surface Duo and improved them somewhat. It's not perfect, and still has its flaws, only it all the same managed to address a lot of the complaints people had virtually its predecessor.
The Surface Duo 2 keeps the same dual screen design as its predecessor, but upgrades the chipset to the Snapdragon 888 chipset, larger 5.8-inch displays , a 90Hz refresh charge per unit, mmWave and Sub-6 5G, and a triple-lens rear-facing camera with 12MP wife and telephoto lenses, 16MP ultrawide lens, and 2x optical zoom. At that place's besides a 12MP selfie camera.
On top of this the phone comes with a ability button fingerprint scanner, back up for the Surface Slim Pen2 stylus, and a significantly larger battery. That extra capacity amounted to an extra 20 minutes of power in unmarried display mode, and 31 minutes in dual display mode. Yous accept to pay for these changes, simply it'south up to you to decide whether it's worth the extra $800.
And then there's the Samsung Milky way Z Fold 3 to consider. While considerably more expensive than the Surface Duo was at launch at $i,800, it'south still a true foldable telephone. That means it has a unmarried uninterrupted screen rather than two separate screens with a hinge.
The Z Fold 3 likewise has powered stylus support with the South Pen, even if the optional actress does cost an additional $49, or $99 if you opt for the more than powerful S Pen Pro.
In other words, at that place are much better options than the original Surface Duo - specially given how flawed the phone has proven itself to be. It's just upwards to you whether yous retrieve those phones are worth the extra money.
Microsoft Surface Duo review: Verdict
I want to love the Surface Duo, and sometimes when I'm using information technology, I really practice. Despite its flaws, this device feels truly special. The Surface Duo's meticulous craftsmanship and thoughtful pattern supports its dual-screen ambitions remarkably well. It encourages yous to try things and work in means yous previously never imagined on a mobile phone.
The Surface Duo isn't quite a smartphone, nor is it a small tablet. However, I could encounter information technology filling the roles of both — at least in concept — making the $one,400 price tag slightly more excusable.
What isn't excusable, however, are the myriad glitches and the disappointing compromises. At that place are times you lot'll use the Surface Duo when you're non entirely sure how it's going to respond to your actions, or why it's responded that way it's chosen to. There are times it'll hang when yous're doing something equally uncomplicated as returning to the home screen, or the keyboard will just surrender on yous as yous're tapping away at an email. Whatever chains and limitations the dual-screen design eradicates, the software hiccups and general lack of responsiveness bring the whole experience crashing back down to Earth.
It's at that point y'all have to face the fact that the Surface Duo doesn't give you lot the same amenities its flagship contemporaries do, even though information technology costs far more in some cases. Surface Duo users will have to live with an underwhelming camera that's a pain to use; an outdated processor with the bare minimum of RAM; no 5G, wireless charging or NFC; and only average battery life. The more you ruminate over everything you requite up, the more yous're convinced to cutting your losses and go with a more reliable big-screen phone like the Galaxy S21 Ultra instead, or a better foldable like the Galaxy Z Fold three.
What surprised me most about the Surface Duo during my fourth dimension with it is that it proves Microsoft right in a sense. I can recognize now that there'south enormous potential in dual-screen devices when done properly, and Microsoft has gotten closer to realizing information technology than anyone before them. Every bit it stands, though, the Surface Duo'south potential is in dire need of refinement, and it'south saddled by a few too many headaches to recommend.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/microsoft-surface-duo
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