Microsoft launched the Surface Duo 2, its second swing at folding phones, on Wednesday night at its fall hardware event. The Duo 2 features the same ‘makeshift’ foldable design as the original Duo, which is to say it’s two slabs of glass joined together by a hinge in stark contradiction to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 3 where the screen ‘actually’ folds in the middle. Microsoft is basically using this generation to fix some of the glaring hardware choices it made with the last model. The Duo 2 comes with bigger screens, more powerful hardware, 5G support, and more capable cameras.
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The Duo 2 has two 5.8-inch AMOLED 1344x1892p screens with 90Hz ‘adaptive’ refresh rate and Corning Gorilla Glass Victus protection. Together they offer an 8.3-inch display in ‘book mode’ although it’s not as uninterrupted as Samsung’s flexible OLED seen in the Fold 3. Microsoft has curved the edges of these displays, this time, for what it calls a ‘Glance Bar’ which is designed to give you quick access to notifications, volume and charging information. The dual displays also work with the company’s new Surface Slim Pen 2 stylus which can also attach magnetically to it on the outside while charging at the same time—the Duo 2 does not support wireless charging though.
Under the hood, the Duo 2 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 system-on-chip paired with 8GB RAM and up to 512GB storage. It runs Android 11 software and supports 5G connectivity and dual SIM. It is further backed by a 4,449mAh battery with 23W fast charging.
For photography, the Duo 2 has three cameras on the back which is a combination of 12MP wide, 12MP telephoto and another 16MP ultra-wide-angle camera. The wide and telephoto lenses have Optical Image stabilisation.
The Duo 2 will be available in Glacier and Obsidian black colours at a price of $1,499.99 from October 21 in select markets.
