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Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
At the end of 2019, Microsoft shocked the world with the grand concept of creating a modern portable computing experience with Surface Duo. Surface Duo is a mobile phone with two displays, similar to a digital diary. A year later, the device hit the shelves. Vulnerable software, high prices, and severe lack of hardware make it almost impossible to recommend except for bold early adopters and adventurers.
Based on the idea many years ago, Duo 1 aims to be a portable Surface that runs a Windows version instead of Android. This concept was later saved because it was "converted" to an Android phone at the last minute. If you want to know why there is no NFC, a bad camera, no 5G, an old CPU, well, there you go.
So, what will happen when Microsoft knows that it will be the flagship Android phone by the end of 2021 and completely redo the hardware? You will get a Surface Duo 2 equipped with Android 11 (a slightly optimized operating system for dual-screen experience).
The good news is that Surface Duo 2 is a huge conceptual leap. The triple camera array, 90Hz curved display, NFC, 5G and the powerful Snapdragon 888 are more impressive than ever. The software is also better-faster, more agile... and usually has fewer errors (more on this later).
Priced at $1,500, the Surface Duo 2 still has to climb a difficult hill to persuade the public to take the risk, but at least this time, it worked, even if it is not ready for the mainstream.
Bottom line: Surface Duo 2 has been significantly improved compared to the first generation, with better hardware, attention to detail, and software with significantly fewer errors. However, there are still some problems that need to be resolved, and the high price will discourage many people.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
The starting price of Surface Duo 2 is $1,499, which is $100 higher than the release price of the first Surface Duo. Even if it costs more, there are fewer boxes without free bumper shells or Type-C charger bricks (although you have a charger cable).
Optional accessories include the $40 Surface Duo 2 Bumper (redesigned with new materials), the $65 Surface Duo 2 Pen Cover (excluding the pen), and the $130 Surface Slim Pen 2. The Surface Duo 2 Pen Cover can wirelessly charge the Surface Slim Pen 1 or 2 and hold it in place with a magnet. The stylus can also be attached to the Surface Duo 2 without a protective cover, but it will not charge wirelessly.
However, compared to the first generation, the device will be available in more countries/regions when it is launched, and it is expected to start shipping in the following markets on October 21:
Surface Duo 2 is available in Glacier White or Obsidian Black (new) colors, with 128GB, 256GB, or 512GB storage configurations. The pricing for each specification is 1,499 US dollars, 1,599 US dollars, and 1,799 US dollars.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
Surface Duo 2 looks like the first version, except for the new (and fingerprint-prone) obsidian black color scheme. But picking up Duo 2, it's obviously different from last year's phone. Microsoft has completely rebuilt all aspects of Surface Duo 2, and everything has become better.
Surface Duo 2 has Corning Gorilla Glass on the outside, and Corning Victus on the inside, the hardest glass currently available. Now, the edge of the glass is slightly curved, forming a "2D" attenuation, reminiscent of the Nokia Lumia screen. The result is that Duo 2 feels softer and has fewer hard edges than the first generation. Microsoft also redesigned the frame and materials used throughout the phone to provide better sealing and make it more resistant to damage. This includes an enhanced Type-C port, which is now in the middle. There is even basic IPX1 waterproof protection.
The device is slightly thicker at 5.5mm when opened instead of 4.8mm (11mm and 9.9mm when closed), but only when you directly compare Duo 2 to its predecessor. The weight has increased from 250 grams to 284 grams, which is slightly heavier than Samsung’s Galaxy Fold 3 (271 grams).
Compared with ordinary mobile phones, the volume distribution of Duo 2 is more even, making it not like an anchor in a pocket. The increase in size and weight was due to a larger battery, which jumped from 3,577mAh to 4,449mAh, which required power for a 90Hz display (up from 60Hz) and a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor (compared to Snapdragon 855).
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
Ironically, the increased weight and thickness are good for Duo 2. The first Duo is almost too thin and feels very fragile, and the attached bumper box helps alleviate this situation. Surface Duo 2 feels firmer and less refined, making the bumper feel unimportant.
Even the hinge of the Surface Duo 2 is new. Although their slimness and the wiring of the two displays are engineering marvels, if you quickly turn on the screen, the hinges of the Duo 1 will make a very light click, and some users mistake it for damage. This situation has now disappeared, because Duo 2's hinge is smoother and has a little more resistance-opening it is even more satisfying, which is a remarkable achievement.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
The most notable difference on the back is the new three-camera array with ultra-wide-angle, wide-angle and telephoto. Assisting these lenses is a flash and time-of-flight sensor for focus assist.
Although there is a hump, when the Duo 2's display is folded upside down, the case tilts to help. Many people want to know how it feels to use this way, no problem. Strange? certainly. Will it prevent use? Do not. In fact, when switched to this position, the device has a satisfying "hand clap" with the lens slightly recessed to protect them. This is indeed a compromise design, but it can be said that the main complaint of Duo 1 is the bad camera situation, which is resolved.
Inside, there is still a front camera (minus the flash) for selfies, more likely to be video calls.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
Surface Slim Pen 1 and 2 can now be magnetically attached to the front cover. Although it looks like you can do this with Duo 1, this is just a side effect of the device magnet. This time, it was deliberate, and the magnet is quite powerful (the pen case is more powerful).
The SIM tray is now also located at the bottom edge and relatively centered with the Type-C port. This is a single nano-SIM slot, although Surface Duo 2 also supports simultaneous use of eSIM, which is another change.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
The side volume rocker feels unaffected, which is good. Microsoft correctly combined the power button and fingerprint reader into one, which makes more sense. It is also an excellent reader-fast and reliable. When the Surface Duo 2 is turned off, double-click the power button to use the flash as a flashlight; when the device is turned on, the same function will activate the camera. You can turn off this feature in the settings, but it is a clever way.
The audio has improved significantly. There used to be only one speaker (except for one for calls), now there are two (plus one for calls). Microsoft put one on the display in the upper left corner, on the right side, and it’s on the bottom, which helps balance the sound regardless of the Surface Duo 2’s posture. This is an immersive effect when using two monitors. However, in the Microsoft team's conference call, they were unusually quiet compared to playing YouTube videos or listening to music on Spotify, which was loud and energetic. When the device is turned off, the audio works well. If the quality does not deteriorate when listening to music, you can use it like this.
NFC and Google Pay FTW. Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
With the support of AAC, Bluetooth has jumped from 5.0 to 5.1. Many people encounter Bluetooth problems on Surface Duo 1, unstable performance and performance degradation. When using Microsoft's Surface Earbuds, Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 and using it with Tesla Model 3, I have no such concerns. With Buds 2, I can walk 25 feet to another room and still play audio without missing any beats.
Now the left display has built-in NFC, which can be used for Google Pay. Simply fold the Surface Duo 2 backwards when the device is unlocked, and you can pay. It works as expected.
After unlocking, Surface Duo 2 can run on any network with 5G. 5G can mean anything from extremely fast speeds to slightly faster than LTE, depending on your carrier and location. Using T-Mobile in downtown Marlborough, Massachusetts, I lowered 39.9 Mbps and increased 54.2 Mbps, which is not bad.
If I can evaluate the hardware of Surface Duo 2, it will get A+. If you can go to Best Buy and try to showcase the model, I encourage you to do so.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
Open Surface Duo 2, and you will see two 5.8-inch (1892x1344) AMOLED HDR glass displays, combined into a larger 8.3-inch (2688x1892) display with 401 pixels per inch (PPI). This is an increase from last year's 5.6-inch display (8.1 inches in total). It is significantly larger. Those borders are also thinner. This year, a higher 90Hz refresh rate has been added, combined with a faster CPU, making the entire device more responsive. You cannot disable 90Hz and reduce it to 60Hz to save battery.
The peak brightness is 800 nits, which is enough for outdoor use in sunlight (lower than the latest 1,000+ nits of Samsung and Apple). The screen is also shiny, but it is easily overlooked due to clarity.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
I don't want to say more, I just want to say that these screens are awesome. The color, contrast, and size make them completely different from any other device on the market.
Although Fold 3 has a span of 7.6 inches and has 374 PPI, Duo 2 is larger (8.3 inches) and higher resolution (401 PPI). Samsung won the 120 Hz refresh, although I think any gains above 90 Hz will diminish compared to jumping from 60 Hz. In addition, Microsoft uses glass displays instead of Samsung's plastic.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
The Duo 2’s display is now curved inwards, like a paper in a book, complementing the Surface Duo 2’s analogy of being like a digital mole skin. Curves help in many ways, not just for appearance. The effective viewing area between the two screens is now closer than the original Duo, with only 67 pixels blocked, and less than 84 pixels, allowing you to see more uninterrupted content.
Because the curved screen displays a small portion when the device is turned off, Microsoft uses it as a secondary external display called the Glance Bar.
Although not as effective as Samsung’s external screen, this Glance bar will display notifications of missed calls, text messages, and voice mail. It also displays a blue pulse bar for incoming calls and uses different animations for incoming call text. When plugged in to charge, a green bar will show the battery level, while a white bar will appear when changing the volume and playing audio. Tapping the power button will open a bar indicating the current time and any missed notifications. This is an imaginative solution that helps to take advantage of Duo 2's peculiar appearance.
So curved...Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Microsoft has not yet opened the Glance Bar API to third parties or other applications, but it told the media that it is investigating the idea.
Surface Slim Pen 2 is not included, but if you have Slim Pen 1, you can also use it. Although Slim Pen 2 supports haptics in Surface Pro 8 and Surface Laptop Studio, Surface Duo 2 does not, although Microsoft is working on it (translation: don't count on it).
Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows CentralMicrosoft's new Glance bar is running.
I hope there are more words about pens. The Bluetooth button still has no effect. Not many Android applications use it. Microsoft does not provide inking support for this comment for Outlook and Photos, although the latter seems very useful. I think Whiteboard supports it, but it is only open to EDU accounts, so I can't tell you anything about it. You can use the stylus in OneNote, and Slim Pen 2 slides like a dream in it-it feels better than Surface PC. But nothing more.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
If Microsoft wants someone to take Inking and Surface Duo seriously, it should at least bring its Journal app to Android. Maybe there are five more applications. Samsung is at least going all out on the S Pen software, even if half of it is a gimmick. At present, writing on the Surface Duo 2 is still an afterthought. Rascal.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
The hardware is only part of the Surface Duo 1 problem. But it was the software that really ruined the experience of the first device. Many of them are on Android 10, which is not built for dual screens. Duo 2 comes with at least Android 11, and when combined with better hardware, it can provide a greatly improved experience.
Interestingly, Microsoft is now very inclined to the fun of games, photography and Surface Duo 2-these were all downplayed and ignored in the first version. This is a good move.
The new feature is to select a specific application to "auto span", that is, to open the application in dual display mode by default. Such features are meaningful for Amazon Kindle, Microsoft Outlook, OneNote, and Google Photos. Found under Settings, users can enable or disable it for each application.
Amazon Kindle is great. Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
Gameloft has joined this year, with Asphalt 9 pre-installed. But this version, together with Modern Combat 5 and Dungeon Hunter 5 (download separately), is now customized to support dual-screen use.
I'm not a typical mobile game player, but Gameloft made this concept clear here. Asphalt 9 displays the game map and touch controls on the bottom screen. Dungeon Hunter 5 also displays the map, touch controls, and dialogue with NPCs. None of this is superfluous-Gameloft seriously considered using a second monitor and delivering it. This is not just the main gameplay; you customize the character (or car), select levels, etc., all of which use the second display in a clever way.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
Microsoft has plugged its value-driven Xbox Game Pass into cloud game streams in large numbers. They did it right, because there are now 113 advanced games that people can stream to Surface Duo 2 using on-screen touch controls. This is an impressive achievement. Don't like touch? Just pair the Xbox One controller and put Duo 2 in tent mode.
It is still possible to pair apps-start two apps at the same time, one on each display. I paired FedEx + UPS app (transportation), Eufy + Ring (security), Google Maps + Yelp (food), and Slack + Telegram (work), and you can learn what is important to me with just one tap .
Perhaps the most impressive thing is that Microsoft has rebuilt the camera and photo applications. Although the camera experience of Surface Duo 1 was terrible, Duo 2 totally accepted it. Start the camera application, the viewfinder (live image) is on the right, and the camera roll is on the left. Take a picture and it will quickly pop up on the left for you to view. Click the edit button, and the photo will move to the right to display. Now on the left, you have a complete editing suite. The editing features, filters, and tools left a deep impression on me and denied my typical use of Google Photos or third-party applications. This is an excellent application.
New camera and photo application. Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
The standalone Microsoft Photo application is also part of OneDrive. By default, it will display photos on all devices, separated by camera roll, screenshots, and downloads that can be edited or shared. With just one tap, you can access all OneDrive, shared files, etc. It works seamlessly.
Microsoft redesigned the notification bar to make it wider, and added sliders for volume and display brightness. The idea is that if you use Surface Duo 2 in tent mode, you can now slide and adjust the volume instead of lifting the device to access physical controls.
Swipe to the left and you will see the "Feed" area where you can view news, weather, calendar and other widgets. The weather and news widgets have been updated to look more like widgets on Windows 11. Clicking on the news item will open Microsoft's new start application (renamed News), which now also supports dual screens (browse the news feed on the left and read the story on the right).
If the device is turned on but laid flat, the display will turn on "elevator wake up". Lift it and the screen is awakened. All these Surface Duo-specific configuration options can now be easily found under a section in "Settings".
Surface Duo 1 (back) and Surface Duo 2 (front). Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
In the past, Surface Duo would try to guess which screen you are looking at based on the way you hold your phone in single-screen mode, but it turns out that this is too unpredictable, causing users to feel frustrated. Folding Surface Duo 2 is displayed on the right by Microsoft by default. This is the correct solution, the user can always double-click the left display to cover it.
However, although the overall experience of Surface Duo 2 is much better, there are still some quirks and growing troubles.
Both Outlook and the photo application support inking or at least support them. At the time of this review, these updates have not yet been pushed to the media. These applications allow you to draw or draw photos in emails. They may be great, but they haven't come yet.
The pairing app that has been running on the Surface Duo 1 sometimes fails on the Surface Duo 2 because an app does not start (or is slow to start). I also started the camera application strangely (the viewfinder and the camera roll are on the same side). These weird things are rare, but they show the difficulty of implementing this form factor when you are not building an operating system.
Google Maps is paired with Yelp. Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
There are also some strange system behaviors. Click on the news story in the Feed area, it will open the Microsoft Start application (very good), it will automatically span according to my settings (also very good), but this is not the default spanning behavior on one side of the story, and on the other hand News feed. Instead, the story is divided into two screens, which is difficult to read (strange).
New notification shadows and controls. Source: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central
In fact, the start application and feed areas are a bit confusing. It is possible to browse news in dual-screen mode, but once you go to other parts of "Start", such as weather, COVID, wallpapers, videos, etc., they are not designed for dual-screen use. Even if you disable the start span when you click on a news article in the feed (left), the start will open on the left instead of the expected behavior (right). This weird behavior occurs on a lot of content in the feed area.
Amazon's Kindle app now requires less fiddling to work on dual screens (it is set by default), which is great. However, once you leave the excellent reading experience and head to the Kindle store, the dual-screen setup will crash. This is not a disruptive trader, but a good example of how the application has these mixing moments (hint Misfits).
Although we are using Android 11 and a year after Surface Duo 1, none of Google's apps are optimized for dual screens (photos can be used, but they seem to be more suitable for tablet mode). Although Android 11 is better optimized for appearance through improved development tools, messages, phone calls, maps, Gmail, YouTube, YouTube TV, etc. still do not use these two screens.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
Many Microsoft applications have been enhanced for dual screens (OneNote, To-Do, Office, Outlook, Calendar, Teams). Nevertheless, some peripheral laggards such as GroupMe, LinkedIn, Authenticator, Translator and Xbox do not, while others such as Bing and Start are partially optimized.
There are more important gesture issues. I still think that Microsoft's sensitivity to swipe is too low, which means you need to think carefully before you can register. If you want to make a quick gesture and swipe quickly, you may end up with the wrong action. I hope that the notification panel is only used for search countless times. Microsoft should provide users with a gradient tool to adjust the display sensitivity (it is used for back gestures).
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
I haven't encountered any problems when typing with SwiftKey (the default keyboard), but I have heard from other reviewers that this may be related to the low sensitivity issue that I think is related to gestures. Most importantly, for some people, the touch on the Surface Duo 2 feels a bit wrong, and there are similar problems on the Surface Duo 1. It is difficult to explain, and it may be equally difficult to solve.
Similarly, for Microsoft Launcher, there is nothing to report. There are still zero customization options, no theme, no way to modify gestures, change icons, etc. What is a bit strange is that the Launcher hasn't received any new features for a whole year, but has only moderately improved the experience.
Microsoft's Your Phone allows you to manage notifications, calls, photos, etc. wirelessly, and it works well, but the "new" version has not yet appeared. Still not streaming by app like Samsung devices, but still screen mirroring, which is not that effective or convenient.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
Surface Duo 2 is equipped with the prestigious Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, equipped with 8GB of RAM and 128GB to 512GB of storage space. The app opens quickly, and switching is almost instant, just like day and night between previous models. I don't mind 12GB of RAM, which is the standard for high-end Android phones, but 8GB is a step beyond the 6GB in Surface Duo 1.
On Geekbench 5, Surface Duo 2 has a single-core score of 1,094 and a multi-core score of 3,476, while Surface Duo 1 has a single-core score of only 737 and a multi-core score of 2,815. In contrast, Surface Duo 2 surpasses Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Snapdragon 888), Galaxy Fold 3 and all other Android phones except OnePlus 9 Pro (1,130). For OpenCL (4,679) and Vulkan (4,411), Surface Duo 2 is far ahead of all other Snapdragon 888 phones.
Turning to AnTuTu, which measures the combination of CPU, GPU, memory, and UX, Surface Duo 2 still performs well, but slightly lags behind Galaxy Z Fold 3. We can conclude that the CPU performance of Surface Duo 2 is excellent, and the overall performance is above average (over 78% of other Android phones).
The battery life is good, but not special, although it may be impressive when you consider the processor and running dual 90Hz displays. In 14 hours a day, through 40 minutes of Microsoft Teams video calls, 40 minutes of TikTok, and another 3 hours of regular use (email, notifications, telegram, camera, Twitter, Slack), I have 15% battery left Power, the screen on time is close to 4 hours. Of course, this is not a controlled test with different display brightness and workload.
In the past week of heavy usage, I have nearly 5 hours of screen punctuality under typical non-video call workloads (email, web, Slack, Telegram, SMS, phone, camera, Twitter, etc.), and often at 30% The remaining power has ended the day. This makes it a daily charging device, rather than a multi-day charging device.
Fortunately, the fast charging function works well, charging 16% every 10 minutes, or about 50% in 30 minutes.
Unfortunately, Surface Duo 2 does not have Qi wireless charging. When asked, Microsoft was very interested in the idea of a future version, but space is already tight due to 5G, NFC and larger batteries. Next time.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
Microsoft installed three rear cameras on the back. Although some people may have questions about the appearance, as someone who used Surface Duo 1 last year, I don't mind. The graphic design trade-offs of these cameras are worthwhile. Yes, it will shake slightly when it is laid flat, but you can now take pictures of your pet or take pictures at night without backing away from fear.
The specifications of the three cameras are as follows:
Nowadays, the number of megapixels is low, because some mobile phones such as RealMe GT Master Edition Explorer are equipped with 50MP Sony sensors, so the pixels will be displayed when zoomed in.
Microsoft hired Japanese imaging company Morpho, which uses artificial intelligence and deep learning for photo processing. The results paid off. Although real-time images are usually okay, the post-processed photos have a good balance between color, exposure, and contrast. See for yourself in the gallery below (all images are untouched):
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
Standard fees for camera functions include slow motion, video, photos, portraits, and panoramas. Even the new night mode requires a slightly longer exposure time and is combined with a shorter exposure time, just like many Android phones. The overall experience has been considerably improved over the Surface Duo 1, and there is no denying that it doesn’t say much.
In contrast, these cameras feel better on par with mid-range phones in 2020, and still lag behind Samsung and Apple’s best performance in 2021, but they are often on par with my iPhone 12 mini, which exceeds my expectations. .
When taking photos of my cat, Surface Duo 2 correctly exposed the windows and slightly overexposed Zoe. The iPhone window is correct, but the subject is underexposed. Neither photo is impressive. But due to the strong backlit scene (direct sunlight) and the contrasting fur of the cat (difficult to meter), this is a challenging photo for any camera. I will put the image of Duo 2 on the iPhone.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
The low-light effect is also good, although you will see more particles and noise than the iPhone 12 mini.
As the hardware image is stable and the video is satisfactory, it can shoot at 1080P 30 or 60 FPS and 4K 30 or 60 FPS. It will struggle a bit in bright scenes to compensate for the exposure, but it is still a few miles ahead of the Surface Duo 1.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
In the final analysis, compared to Surface Duo 1, Microsoft has made a great attempt to improve the camera experience. The new array on the back may not be pretty, but I no longer need the iPhone 12 mini as a secondary phone. It pales in comparison to the top 2021 flagship phones, but these phones also don't have dual screens, so that's it. I suspect that some people will criticize the poor quality of these photos posted on social media.
In many ways, Surface Duo 2 has no direct competitors. Except for Surface Duo 1, there are no other dual-screen devices, and the transaction price now is around $400. Although this phone is expected to launch Android 11 before the end of the year, there is no software that can solve the limited hardware experience. However, if you are looking for a "starter" dual-screen phone to use as an Android mini tablet or a great Kindle reader, then it might be interesting as a secondary device.
Samsung's Galaxy Fold 3 is the next logical choice and the overall safe choice. In the third generation, Samsung has basically figured out the design and feature set of Fold 3. Although the camera has not changed this year, the technology has revolved around it, including support for S Pen, which is welcome. Despite this, the Fold 3 starts at $1,799-which is $300 higher than the Surface Duo 2-and there are still some issues with the folding screen and reliability (at least Samsung has a good warranty). Unsurprisingly, the battery life is also weak, but Samsung's software experience is more refined than that of Microsoft.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
Surface Duo 2 has a lot to unlock. Let's start with the most controversial question: why use it? The advantages of dual screens should be obvious; if not, please answer the following questions:
The answer to all these queries is simple: you can view more information and handle multiple tasks more easily. This is the same principle behind Surface Duo, which is why it resonates with so many people. Nothing is more complicated; this is not a deep riddle. On the contrary, you should also figure out that not everyone needs the above options-some people like the single screen of a small cell phone or a personal computer. That's okay.
In terms of its position in the field of technology, Surface Duo 2 is between the mobile phone and my ultrabook. This is its value-think of it as a portable laptop. When I have it, I am less likely to jump to work on the PC, manage social networking, chat in Slack or Telegram, etc. Read (Kindle) and games (Xbox Game Pass, Gameloft) at the same time, and you have a new way to experience the modern digital miracle.
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
I still believe that Microsoft is on the right track with the theory that Surface Duo 2 and some people prefer such devices. I am one of them; I like this damn thing. Duo 2 is a great help in making up for the outdated specifications and missing features in the first version. As a fan of this concept, Surface Duo 2 is the specification and design I want.
Where Microsoft failed is software and support. It is true that the launch state of Surface Duo 2 is much better than the first iteration, but those who bought Surface Duo 1 are still waiting for Android 11. This is simply unacceptable. Duo 2 also has bugs, occasional software malfunctions and some missing animations, which many people feel uncomfortable. What about Android 12? Does Surface Duo 2 take another year? The company has a lot to prove to win consumers and even fans. (Microsoft promises to provide three-year updates for its value.)
Source: Daniel Rubino/Windows Central
Such problems make it still difficult to recommend Surface Duo 2 to ordinary people, although this time there are far fewer spoilers. Surface Duo 1 fans will be satisfied with the new hardware, but Microsoft can't simply sell this device to some die-hard fans forever.
Should Microsoft continue to use Surface Duo? Absolutely. The second edition feels very much like the middle part of the story-it is becoming the focus, improvements have been made in many areas, and great progress has been made-but more things need to happen to complete the story.
Don’t let anyone tell you in a different way: Surface Duo 2 is a huge improvement over the first model. But the actual Surface Duo experience is waiting for another chapter, making Surface Duo 2 a good milestone, but still a novelty for many people.
If you are on the sidelines, you don’t need to believe my words (or any other commenters). Microsoft allows you to try Surface Duo 2 for 60 days with Surface Promise. Most people will know within a week whether this is suitable for them. If the price drops during this period, Microsoft will refund the difference upon request.
As for me? I will not give up Surface Duo 2. My iPhone 12 mini is now working out, and Z Flip 3 will be sold because I am a converter and I will not apologize for it.
Bottom line: Surface Duo 2 has been significantly improved compared to the first generation, with better hardware, attention to detail, and software with significantly fewer errors. However, there are still some problems that need to be resolved, and the high price will discourage many people.
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Daniel Rubino is the executive editor of Windows Central. Since the site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central) in 2007, he has been covering Microsoft here. His interests include Windows, Surface, laptops and modern computing. Follow him on Twitter: @daniel_rubino.