The Surface Duo 2 Is Not Good

We’re already seeing the third era of foldable telephones, however dual-screen handsets stay exceedingly uncommon—probably for good motive. But that didn’t cease Microsoft from bursting onto the scene final yr with the Surface Duo and attempting to choose up the place the final main dual-screen cellphone, the ZTE Axon M, left off. Now the Surface Duo 2 is right here, and whereas Microsoft has packed in a number of upgrades (in and out), I’m nonetheless not bought on dual-screen telephones. In reality, I’m fairly positive Microsoft ought to cease attempting.

A Foldable Phone That Looks Like a Book

One of the perfect issues in regards to the unique Surface Duo was its design, which featured ultra-thin glass shows held collectively by a nifty hinge and just about no awkward angles or unpleasant protrusions to interrupt up its minimalist strains. It regarded as if Microsoft re-engineered a hardcover ebook for the twenty first century, and even if you happen to didn’t just like the machine itself, there was no denying it was stunning.

The Surface Duo is now accessible in each black and grey (whoa, get excited), however its common design hasn’t deviated a lot from final yr’s mannequin. In reality, Microsoft has tweaked a variety of little facets that make the Duo 2 appear and feel even higher earlier than. The Duo 2’s hinge is smaller, whereas its bezels are thinner and its screens are barely bigger at 5.8 inches every (or 8.3 inches mixed) with out growing its general dimensions. Heck, Microsoft constructed the Duo 2’s fingerprint sensor into its energy button so the bizarre divot on the aspect is gone. And it appears Microsoft even listened to suggestions in regards to the edges of the primary Duo being a bit too sharp, as a result of on the Duo 2, they’re a bit extra rounded, which makes the machine way more nice to carry.

Microsoft additionally rounded out the perimeters of the Duo 2’s show on the aspect closest to the hinge, which lets you see issues just like the time, notifications, and charging standing (when the cellphone is plugged in) utilizing the Duo’s new Glance Bar. It’s a intelligent characteristic, and on a cellphone that principally requires two palms to open earlier than you possibly can actually use it, it’s additionally actually helpful.

Of course, there’s one new part that doesn’t actually jive with the Duo 2’s new streamlined design: an enormous digicam hump in again. I get why Microsoft wished to place a pleasant rear digicam module on the Duo 2—the one digicam on the unique was the selfie cam mounted above the cellphone’s proper display screen, and other people hated it. But I actually don’t assume a digicam this large or cumbersome was the way in which to go. Not solely does it seem like it was simply tacked on the again of the cellphone like an afterthought, however the digicam module additionally makes it unattainable to open the cellphone a full 360 levels.

This means there’s a niche between each halves of the cellphone if you’re attempting to make use of it in single display screen mode, which will increase its thickness and makes the entire thing really feel a lot much less sturdy. Without a lot effort, you possibly can even bend elements of the cellphone reverse of its cameras to the purpose the place its corners contact. Now it’s true that Microsoft has made some small changes to alleviate among the stress, like giving the digicam module a barely slanted design in order that its display screen sits flat on its rear digicam when folded again. But for such a chic machine, the Duo’s digicam module stays a somewhat brutish answer, and that’s earlier than we even speak in regards to the form of footage it produces.

Flagship Performance, Finally

One of the most important misfires in regards to the unique Surface Duo was its weak {hardware}, which included a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip that was already outdated at launch. Microsoft packed a current-gen Snapdragon 888 chip, a good 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of base storage (although sadly, no help for microSD playing cards) into the Duo 2. That offers the machine an enormous efficiency increase, placing it on the identical enjoying subject as Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra and different tremendous premium Android telephones. It additionally fared barely higher than the Pixel 6’s Tensor chip on some exams, like Geekbench’s multicore CPU benchmark.

Microsoft additionally upgraded the Duo 2’s two 1892 x 1344 AMOLED shows with 90Hz refresh charges, which makes all the pieces from gaming to easily scrolling down web sites appear and feel noticeably smoother. And whereas the Duo 2 remains to be working Android 11 (and sure received’t see an replace to Android 12 for a lot of months), a number of the multitasking points and common efficiency bugs have been mounted and polished too.

However, one side of the Duo 2’s efficiency that also feels considerably tough is its contact response. I’ve been utilizing the Duo 2 for weeks, and I’m undecided if it’s a calibration concern, wonky settings, or inputs that simply don’t get acknowledged, however for some motive, even easy gestures like swiping as much as open the app launcher or swiping all the way down to open the notification tray typically require a number of makes an attempt to undergo. It’s massively irritating, notably if you first boot up the cellphone, as a result of generally it feels just like the Duo 2 is straight up ignoring you. I’ve requested other people to check out Duo 2’s contact response simply to verify it wasn’t simply me, and a few folks thought it was damaged. I began to get used to it, however navigating via menus and even switching between apps simply doesn’t really feel as easy or intuitive because it ought to.

Big Cameras Shoot Bad Photos

It could be OK to stay enormous cameras on the again of a cellphone in the event that they shoot actually nice images, however that’s not what you get on the Surface Duo 2. The Duo 2 sports activities a rear digicam module that stands out twice so far as the one on the Galaxy Z Fold 3, and also you get noticeably worse footage. When in comparison with the Pixel 6, the Duo 2’s cameras are much more horrible.

The important digicam woes come all the way down to picture processing. In a typical daytime shot of a flower, the Duo 2 fully oversaturated the flower’s petals, which turned the flower right into a vibrant magenta blotchy mess. In one other shot of a baseball subject, the Duo 2’s pic look desaturated and lifeless. Even the Duo 2’s ultra-wide-angle digicam appears to be like grainy and blurry in comparison with the one on the Pixel 6. And that is all earlier than the lights go down, which is when the Duo 2 actually struggles.

In addition to weak picture processing, the Duo 2 additionally lacks a number of devoted taking pictures modes, an important of which is a devoted evening mode. And whereas Microsoft does embrace an computerized low-light perform, it’s not sufficient to salvage the Duo 2’s nighttime pics. In one shot of a basketball court docket at evening (even with a number of close by streetlights), the Duo 2’s pic appears to be like extra like an impressionist portray than an precise picture, and in one other tougher shot, the result’s so darkish and grainy that if I didn’t know higher, I’d assume the cellphone was two or three years outdated.

Now I do know I’m being harsh, and that in lots of circumstances the Duo 2’s cameras are greater than serviceable. And for Microsoft, who hasn’t invested as closely into cellular images as Apple, Google, Samsung, and others, it’s in all probability not a shock to be taught that the Duo 2’s cameras are lackluster. But for a cellphone this costly and with a digicam module this large, simply producing satisfactory photographs isn’t ok.

Solid Battery Life, however No Wireless Charging

With a time of 14:36 in single display screen mode, the Duo 2’s battery simply outpaced the 12:36 smartphone common, although that point did drop considerably to 10 hours flat after I did a second check with each screens going. Still, in on a regular basis circumstances, I discovered the Duo 2 was simply in a position to final all through the day, although you shouldn’t anticipate a lot after that.

My greater concern is that even with upgraded 23-watt wired charging, Microsoft nonetheless didn’t embrace help for wi-fi charging, which is an actual unlucky omission on a flagship cellphone (to not point out no actual type of water resistance).

The Dual-Screen Future

After weeks of testing, I nonetheless really feel actually conflicted in regards to the Surface Duo 2. When it involves multitasking, it’s not laborious to see the Duo’s potential. Two screens make it tremendous simple to have a number of apps working on the similar time, or to see the digicam app, Outlook, and extra in an expanded view—successfully placing extra info at your fingertips. I even assume Samsung might be taught a factor or two from Microsoft about multitasking on cell phones, as transferring apps between completely different screens or making app pairs typically feels extra intuitive on the Surface Duo 2 than the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

The large downside is that despite the fact that the Surface Duo 2 prices $300 lower than a Z Fold 3 (and that’s earlier than reductions or promotions), the Z Fold 3 affords a lot extra for the cash. Its battery life is longer, it takes approach higher images, and it has high-end options like water-resistance and wi-fi charging you’d anticipate on a brilliant premium machine—to not point out the shortage of a niche between its shows and a helpful exterior display screen for simpler use. Putting that massive rear digicam module on the again of the Surface Duo 2 makes the cellphone much more of a two-handed machine than it was earlier than, and it typically feels clunky and cumbersome.

But I nonetheless recognize what Microsoft is attempting to do. Dual displays are incredible at a desk, so why not do one thing comparable on a cellphone? That’s principally the thought behind the Surface Duo and Duo 2. I really like studying books and comics on the Duo 2, and the virtual touch controller when enjoying video games on Xbox Game Pass seems like the perfect factor in regards to the legendary Xperia Play has been up to date for 2021.

It makes a lot sense for enterprise customers who may not care as a lot about digicam high quality that I’m shocked Microsoft isn’t attempting to pitch the Duo 2 more durable on the enterprise market—particularly contemplating all the businesses already paying for company Office 365 subscriptions.

However, I additionally fear in regards to the Surface Duo 2’s design. It’s been billed because the thinnest 5G machine in the marketplace, and it’s. But the smartphone thinness wars ended years in the past, and if that thinness got here on the expense of options like wi-fi charging, longer battery life, a smaller digicam bump, or improved sturdiness, that’s not a compromise that was value making.

As a lot as I really like the thought of a extremely good two-display screen cellphone, in the end I feel Microsoft is healthier off persevering with the Duo line with an enormous foldable cellphone as a substitute of a dual-display one. From a pure {hardware} standpoint, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 does all the pieces the Duo 2 can, however higher. Both telephones even have native stylus help, but let me ask you: Would you like to attract on an enormous display screen with a niche within the center, or one with a single steady show (albeit with a light-weight crease down the middle)?

In a number of methods, it seems like Microsoft spent a lot time addressing the unique Surface Duo’s shortcomings, that it didn’t have time so as to add new options to the Surface Duo 2. And in a gadget panorama that shifts so rapidly from yr to yr, treading water isn’t one thing Microsoft can actually afford to do with its flagship dual-screen cellphone. Unfortunately, that’s precisely what it did.