There are many different strange gadgets in the world. Some are useless, others, like smartphones, are useful. But sometimes manufacturers try to release something completely incomprehensible. Whether in an effort to stand out, or realizing some kind of their own special and a little strange view of familiar things, they release things like Microsoft Surface Duo. Of course, it might look interesting, but about five years ago. Yes, it costs less than the foldable Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2, but still the price confidently steps over the $ 1,000 mark. I tried to change my attitude towards this gadget, but so far it has not worked out, and I am rather negative. But it finally began to sell, and this is the time to discuss its prospects and potential usefulness.
What are we for?
Smartphone Microsoft
If you plunge into history a little, you can understand that Surface Duo for Microsoft is not just another gadget, but something much more significant. This gadget on Android with two screens was the first smartphone from the company released since the end of support for the Windows Phone platform. Time flies fast and you may not have noticed that this happened five years ago. This is a long time and manufacturers usually do not return to the production of devices that were abandoned so long ago.
In general, the release of the Surface Duo was a bit like a soap opera. Initially, they started talking about him at the end of last year, when Microsoft announced the appearance of such a gadget. Then he surfaced several times in the news. Either someone saw a person with a Surface Duo on the subway, then he is about to leave and production has already begun.
As a result, some time ago the company gave another informational lead, saying that it was “just about”, and that day has come. This week, users can already order a new gadget, but I would not rush to do this. Although, I am sure that many will support me in this opinion.
It costs $ 1399, which is quite a lot. If it had a foldable display that unfolds into a single canvas, it would be much better, but in reality it's just two Android – smartphones with a 5.6-inch display. Even at the price it is clear that these are exactly two smartphones. For about that much, you can buy two good devices.
They also shine in different ways.
Surface Duo specifications
Surface Duo screens are made using technology OLED and each has a resolution of 1800 x 1350 pixels. That is, the total resolution will be 1800 by 2700 pixels. Everything would be fine, but the jumper between the screens spoils everything. But the smartphone can be rotated 360 degrees. The device measures 145.2 x 186.9 x 4.8 mm. With such dimensions it is difficult to call it a phone, because it will be difficult to carry it in your pocket. I would call it a foldable tablet. Even Microsoft diligently avoided the word “smartphone”, but gave up.
All due to the fact that the device still has phone functions. It allows you to make voice calls and work in operator networks. But he's not the only new product from Microsoft. This is the rare case when two gadgets are released that belong to the same family, but at the same time run on different operating systems.
In addition to Surfase Duo at Android, the company has released Surface Neo at Windows. The logic of this decision is largely incomprehensible, but, as they say, they know better. Although, in such a gadget, two screens are much more practical, even if they are separated by the same jumper, when you look at which you want to close your eyes and not see it again.
When the picture on the screens is different, the joint is not so noticeable. but in this version it looks just awful.
Coming back to the technical specifications of the Surface Duo, it is immediately clear that it was developed last year, and this is also a failure. It is not as solid as possible to sell the device on last year's processor version. Let it be top-end, but last year. It would be much more beautiful to release a gadget on the current (albeit cheaper) Snapdragon 765 than on last year's flagship Snapdragon 855. It is immediately clear that it was built around this particular platform, but the development was delayed and it was not easy to update it (or did not want to ).
In addition to the Snapdragon 855, 6 GB of RAM and 128 or 256 GB of internal storage can be found under the case. The battery has a capacity of 3577 mAh (yeah), and there is only one camera with 11 megapixels. If you think we're already talking about another $ 300 device, then no, it's still a Microsoft Surface Duo for $ 1399. Well, at least it does not charge from microUSB. There was a place for USB Type-C and even a stylus in it.
Would you buy one?
Which smartphone you should NOT buy
Shall we continue to heat the novelty? Come on! It only has one speaker, so forget about stereo sound. The operating system will be last year's Android 10. Of course, Android 11 was only released a couple of weeks ago, but I doubt the new product will soon receive an update. If he gets it at all. I want to end with a design that reminds me of computers 25 years ago. Those that looked as ugly as possible.
I can understand a lot. And even the fact that such devices came out as a cheaper version of the foldable Samsung, but it's impossible. Microsoft has come up with many ways to use this gadget, but most of them are just sucked from the finger. As a result, we have a device with the characteristics of last year's smartphone for 300 dollars (maximum 500), but with the ambitions of a leader. I don't believe in the future of this gadget. What do you think about that?