Microsoft’s Foldable Surface Duo 2 Aims to Fix the Original’s Mistakes

Microsoft’s Surface Duo, launched final 12 months, was a daring transfer. The dual-screen folding cellphone was fascinating, however that didn’t make it good. With the brand new Surface Duo 2, Microsoft is doubling down with higher specs that purpose to enhance all the problems we had with the unique.

The Surface Duo’s design was imperfect, however there was one thing elegant about its two ultra-thin screens separated by an revolutionary hinge with glorious steadiness. But it appears the unique Surface Duo took so lengthy to develop that by the point it got here out, its specs and cameras have been already outdated at launch.

With the Surface Duo 2, Microsoft has lastly added the form of flagship specs (principally) that its dual-screen cellphone must make good on its imaginative and prescient—and to make that $1,500 price ticket value it. There’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip (up from the SD855 on final 12 months’s mannequin), 8GB of RAM (up from 6GB), and storage choices that go from 128GB as much as 512GB.

Microsoft additionally added NFC—which ought to actually be a regular characteristic on all telephones these days—together with help for 5G connectivity. The Surface Duo 2 measures simply 0.21 inches thick when totally opened, and Microsoft claims it’s the thinnest 5G cellular machine in the marketplace.

The Duo 2 additionally will get an enormous digital camera improve. Microsoft added a brand new 12-MP selfie digital camera on the within together with an enormous new triple-lens rear digital camera module in again with 12-MP foremost cam, a 16-MP ultra-wide cam, and a 12-MP telephoto cam with a 2x optical zoom. This offers the Duo 2 far more respectable picture chops in comparison with competing flagship handsets, although the scale of the rear digital camera module does include the draw back of not having the ability to totally open the Duo 2 a full 360 levels as you would possibly on a 2-in-1 machine.

The Duo 2 simply feels like a extra polished machine. Microsoft has smoothed out a number of the unique’s sharp edges, which makes the Duo 2 rather a lot nicer to carry and open and shut regularly. The cellphone’s fingerprint sensor has additionally been baked into its lock button. And despite the fact that the Duo 2 is about the identical general measurement as its predecessor, Microsoft slimmed down its bezels and added barely bigger 5.8-inch 1344 x 1892 AMOLED touchscreens with 90Hz refresh charges on both aspect, so there’s much more display actual property to get pleasure from.

Microsoft added a few small however intelligent touches, like a case with a magnet for attaching the brand new Surface Pen 2, and a brand new peek characteristic that permits you to examine the time or see notifications by trying on the hole the place the Duo 2’s screens meet its hinge. Microsoft might have simply skipped the peek characteristic, as a result of different foldables don’t embrace one thing like this, but it surely makes it a lot simpler to maintain tabs on occasions with out totally opening the Duo 2. It could be my favourite improve on all the machine.

There are some things nonetheless lacking on the Duo 2 that I want Microsoft had included, like help for wi-fi charging and a few form of official score for mud and water resistance.

But extra importantly, even with all of the Surface Duo 2’s upgraded {hardware}, the success of Microsoft’s newest dual-screen cellphone will nonetheless finally hinge on its software program. The Duo 2 is launching with Android 11 pre-installed, which is an effective begin, however as a result of the gadgets I examined out have been nonetheless operating pre-release beta software program, it stays to be seen how properly Microsoft has been capable of iron out a number of the bugs individuals encountered on the unique. Those ranged from basic sluggishness and occasional problem dragging apps and recordsdata from one display to a different, to ghosting that induced components of some apps to stay on the display even when the app was closed.

Companies like Samsung might study rather a lot from a number of the gestures and capabilities Microsoft has created to maneuver and manipulate apps throughout the Duo’s screens. But the Duo 2 is Microsoft’s second try to make dual-screen gadgets a factor, and persons are going to be additional important (rightly so) if there are nonetheless numerous kinks or bugs within the Duo 2’s software program. But it appears the Duo 2 has the specs it must correctly compete with telephones just like the Galaxy Z Fold 3, and after a 12 months of growth, hopefully the Duo’s software program has taken an enormous step ahead, too.

The Surface Duo 2 is on the market for preorder beginning right this moment for $1,500, and begins transport Oct. 21.