Microsoft finally announced its Surface Duo smartphone on October 2 of last year, promising to deliver it during the holiday season of 2020. It"s finally here, and you can purchase it starting today for $1,399 or $1,499 with 128GB or 256GB of storage, respectively.
The Surface Duo is the first in Microsoft"s venture into dual-screen devices. In fact, it was supposed to arrive alongside the larger Surface Neo, but Neo has been delayed indefinitely with Microsoft claiming that it"s not quite the right time for a focus on dual-screen devices. Windows 10X is instead being repurposed for single-screen PCs, while the Surface Duo can carry on running Android.
Billed as a productivity device, the Surface Duo has two 5.6-inch AMOLED screens that have Surface Pen support, and they combine for an 8.1-inch 3:2 display. Apps that take advantage of the dual screens can choose to show some content on one screen and different content on the other, such as a menu on the left and a page on the right, or they can choose to go completely full-screen.
The Duo also packs a Snapdragon 855 processor, 6GB of RAM, and it"s the thinnest Surface ever, at least when it"s unfolded. It comes in at just 4.8mm thin, weighing in at 250g. It"s also got a single 11MP f/2.0 camera and a 3,577mAh battery.
Pre-orders have been available for about a month, but if you want to order one now, you"ve got three choices. you can get it from the Microsoft Store, Best Buy, and AT&T. Microsoft is offering up to $700 off with an eligible trade-in, while Best Buy is offering 0% financing and $100 off if you activate it in-store. AT&T is offering its usual financing deals for $47 or $50 a month for the 128GB and 256GB models, respectively.