![]() ![]() ![]() It makes it super easy to monitor and respond to chats. I usually keep a messaging app like Slack or Telegram open on one screen while browsing Twitter or Reddit on the other. You can flip one screen all the way to the back for single-screen mode, lay both out flat like a book if you want to use two screens, or use one screen as a kickstand to keep the other propped up while you watch videos. I like that the hinge's 360-degree design lets you put the phone in various orientations. The hinge is the biggest area of long-term concern on any folding device, but the Duo's screens swivel back and forth just as smoothly as they did the first time I handled it. It's just two screens connected by a hinge, after all. I recommend using the included silicone bumper case-it's soft and makes it easy to pry the two screens apart.īut what impressed me the most is that unlike phones with folding screens, which have had a shaky start due to their delicate components, the Surface Duo doesn't feel fragile. Speaking of which, the edges of the Duo are so flat and thin that they feel sharp. Both of those are on the right edge alongside the volume rocker. You can leave it open, but there's no always-on display you'll still have to press the power button or use the fingerprint sensor to wake the screen. I appreciate not getting interrupted by alerts, but needing to repeatedly open the Duo to check the time can quickly feel like a chore. Every foldable or dual-screen phone we've seen so far has some kind of small or large exterior screen for checking notifications, and I'd have liked something similar here. On the outside, which is swathed in glass, there's nothing but a Microsoft logo. Its surprising thinness also makes it easy to hold and tote around (unlike my experience with some other dual-screen phones), though it is wide, so it might not fit your pants pockets (it barely fit mine). Pick it up and it feels lighter than it looks. Unlike a lot of modern tech, it feels warm and inviting, as if opening it will unlock the secrets of the universe. In its closed state, the Surface Duo looks like a small paper notebook, and a pretty one at that. Microsoft got something right here: Two screens are better than one. And sure, you can install Microsoft's apps on any other Android phone, but running them on the Duo is unique. The Google Play Store has almost every app you could want, including those made by Microsoft. The company's Windows Phone mobile OS was crippled because it didn't attract third-party apps, and Microsoft isn't making the same mistake twice. Why not use Windows instead of Google's operating system? Apps. What makes the Duo even more special is that it's Microsoft's first stab at Android (and a phone) since its Nokia days. It's even planning a two-screen Windows laptop for 2021. But rather than falling in line with this new (and delicate) folding glass technology, Microsoft is betting big on the two-screen approach, which it hopes will be a boon for productivity. Samsung and Motorola, for example, sell devices with folding screens in distinct shapes and sizes. The Surface Duo is not the first dual-screen smartphone, but it arrives at a time when companies are experimenting wildly with phone designs. And as much as Microsoft doesn't want to call it a phone, that's what the Duo is, and it falls short as one in a few key areas. ![]() But what drains the Duo of its mobile multitasking charm is glitchy software that makes this $1,400 phone feel like a work in progress. Ever use two computer monitors at the same time? It's hard to go back to a single screen afterward, and the same is true here. The two displays aren't the problem in fact, they're exemplary. Even with the biggest wrinkles ironed out, using the Duo is still an exercise in frustration. After the update, the software became more stable, but many bugs and quirks remain. Presumably after hearing feedback from fellow reviewers and myself, Microsoft pushed an update to our devices a few days earlier than planned. I've run into so many bugs these past two weeks that I had to start jotting them down just to keep track. These are a few of many notes I made while testing Microsoft's new phone, the dual-screen Surface Duo. ![]()
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