Surface Duo: All the Specs, Features, Software, Price and Release Date

Microsoft has finally launched the Surface Duo and the device will begin shipping on September 10, earlier than the original December 2020.

Surface Duo is Microsoft's first dual-screen device, and it also marks Microsoft's debut in the Android market.

Microsoft describes Surface Duo as the "next wave of mobile productivity" that will inspire "people to rethink what is possible with the device in their pocket".

Surface Duo has two screens, one hinge in the middle, and one front-facing camera. The product is powered by Google's Android 10 and it will receive the upgrade to Android 11 later this year.

Overview

Surface Duo offers flexibility and allows you to interact with apps in more ways than ever, including Book, Compose and Tent mode.

You can use the two screens to discover a better way to get things done. You can run any two apps side by side, such as OneNote and PowerPoint, and drag and drop contents between screens.

For example, if you have taken notes for your project in OneNote, you can open OneNote on the first screen and PowerPoint on the second screen, and simply drag the notes between the two apps.

Likewise, you can open an email attachment on the first screen in Outlook and open OneNote on the second screen, and then drag contents from the email to OneNote without leaving Outlook.

Surface Duo features

Microsoft Surface Duo comes with these new features:

• Surface Duo includes a custom pixel stack and each set of panels undergo extensive colour and luminance calibration.
• The new manufacturing processes will actively align pixels across screens to enable a smooth transition of apps and animations.
• Microsoft says it has installed custom-designed cables in the dynamic 360-degree hinge to connect the displays to work together across a variety of postures.
• The proprietary digitizer algorithms are also included to detect when you are crossing the seam with your finger. This will make it feel like it’s one fluid screen.
• Includes new dual-system architecture to deliver optimal performance and battery life.
• Every component, including the layout of the motherboard and multi-cell battery, was purposefully designed to enable seamless integration between the two screens.

Surface Duo tech specs

Dimensions	Open: 145.2 mm (H) x 186.9 mm (W) x 4.8 mm (T) Closed: 145.2 mm (H) x 93.3 mm (W) x 9.9 mm (T at hinge)
Weight1	250 grams
Display	Dual PixelSense™ Fusion Displays open: 8.1” AMOLED, 2700x1800 (3:2), 401 PPI Single PixelSense™ Display: 5.6” AMOLED, 1800x1350 (4:3), 401 PPI Display Material: Corning® Gorilla® Glass
Battery Life	Up to 15.5 hours of Local Video Playback2 Up to 10 days of Standby Time2 Up to 27 hours of Talk Time2
Battery Capacity	3577mAh (typical) dual battery3
Battery charging	Battery charging using 18W in box power supply
Camera and video recording	Adaptive camera 11MP, f/2.0, 1.0 µm, PDAF and 84.0° diagonal FOV optimized with AI for front and rear Photos: Auto mode with low-light & HDR multi-frame photo capture and dynamic range scene detection Super resolution zoom, and super zoom up to 7x  Portrait mode with adjustable depth control Panorama mode Burst mode Video recording: 4K video recording at 30 fps and 60 fps 1080p video recording at 30 fps and 60 fps HEVC and H.264 video recording formats Gyro-based digital video stabilization
Video conferencing	Microsoft Teams and Skype video conferencing up to 1080p at 30fps High CRI LED Flash for both front and world facing photo and video scenarios
Countries, carriers, and compatibility4	Countries: U.S. Unlocked device: AT&T, T-Mobile*** Locked device: AT&T
Network and connectivity	WiFi: WiFi-5 802.11ac (2.4/5GHz) Bluetooth: Bluetooth® 5.0 LTE: 4x4 MIMO, Cat.18 DL / Cat 5 UL, 5CA, LAA. Up to 1.2Gbps Download / Up to 150Mbps Upload Bands Supported: FDD-LTE: 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,12,13,14,19,20,25,26,28,29,30,66 TD-LTE: 38,39,40,41,46 WCDMA: 1,2,5,8 GSM/GPRS: GSM-850, E-GSM-900, DCS-1800, PCS-1900 Location: GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou, QZSS
SIM	One eSIM5 and one Nano SIM Note: AT&T locked device will not support eSIM
Processor	Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855 Mobile Platform optimized for the dual-screen experience
Connections	USB-C® 3.1
Storage and memory6	128GB (available 109GB) 256GB (available 234GB) UFS 3.0 of internal storage6 6GB DRAM
Audio	Mono speaker, Dual Mic noise suppression and echo cancellation optimized for productive use in all postures Best-in-class Full Duplex communication for voice calls in hands-free mode Audio formats supported: 3GP, MP3, MP4, MKV, WAV, OGG, M4A, AAC, TS, AMR, FLAC, MID, MIDI, RTTL, RTX, OTA, IMY Qualcomm® aptX™ Adaptive Sensors Dual Accelerometer Dual Gyroscope Dual Magnetometer Dual Ambient Light Sensor Proximity Sensor Hall Sensor Fingerprint Sensor Video playback Video Playback Formats8: MKV, MOV, MP4, H.265(HEVC), AVI, WMV, TS, 3GP, FLV, WEBM Wireless: Chromecast support Wired: DisplayPort over USB-C®. Supports video out when connecting via HDMI Adapter* Exterior Exterior Material: Corning® Gorilla® Glass Color: Glacier Security and authentication Biometric lock type: Fingerprint reader (1:100K FAR Lock type: Swipe, PIN, password Security applications pre-loaded on device: Microsoft Authenticator Language support All supported languages (Android™ 10) Pen and inking Supports all in market generations of Surface Slim Pen, Surface Pen and Surface Hub 2 Pen* Simultaneous Pen and touch are supported What’s in the box Surface Duo Surface Duo Bumper (Color: Glacier) Surface Duo USB-C® Power Supply (18w) Quick Start Guide Warranty and Compliance Guide SIM Ejector tool Warranty9 1-year limited hardware warranty The Microsoft Store Promise for Surface 60-day return policy 90 days of free technical phone support Free virtual workshops and training

Design and display

Surface Duo has two separate screens, which are connected together by a 360-degree hinge. Unlike the Galaxy Fold, Surface Duo doesn't fold and it is also only 4.8 mm thick when opened.

Surface Duo comes with the same magnesium material as the rest of the Surface lineup.

Surface Duo sports two 5.6-inch screens with the 3:4 aspect ratio and they can fold out to 8.1 inches of screen. For each screen, the resolution is 1,800 x 1,350, which expands to a total of 2,700 x 1,800 when the phone is unfolded or extended out.

The screens, including the backside, are protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. The displays are AMOLED panels and they're are vibrant with 401PPI, thanks to the “active pixel alignment.”

Camera

Surface Duo comes with a single adaptive 11MP camera and supports high CRI LED Flash. The diagonal FOV is optimized with AI for improved front and rear photography.

For photos, Surface Duo comes with auto mode feature that allows you to capture the best in low-light. It also supports dynamic range scene detection and HDR multi-frame photos.

The other features include portrait mode with adjustable depth control, super-resolution zoom and super zoom up to 7x, Panorama mode, and Burst mode for both font and world facing photos.

For videos, Surface Duo supports 4K video recording at 30 fps and 60 fps, 1080p video recording at 30 fps and 60 fps. It also comes with HEVC and H.264 video recording formats, and gyro-based digital video stabilization.

You can also use it to make slow-motion videos in 1080p at 120fps, 240fps, 30 fps and 60 fps.

Security

Surface Duo includes special protection at every layer with deeply integrated hardware, firmware, and software. According to Microsoft, this will keep your devices, identities, and data secure.

To make this happen, Microsoft designed its own custom Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), which enables full control over firmware components.

This also allows Microsoft to deliver enterprise-grade security to Surface Duo as the company is able to review every line of firmware code.

As a result, Microsoft says it can respond directly and agilely, to potential firmware threats and even "mitigate supply chain security risks".

Software

Surface Duo runs on Android 10 with Microsoft Surface Duo UI. In a statement, Microsoft has confirmed that its new Surface Duo will be supported with OS and security updates for three years.

List of Google apps on Surface Duo:

1. Google Search
2. Google Assistant
3. Google Calendar
4. Google Drive
5. Google Duo
6. Google Photos
7. Google Play Movies & TV
8. Google Play Store
9. Google Maps
10. Chrome
11. Gmail
12. YouTube
13. YouTube Music
14. Contacts
15. Messages
16. Phone
17. Files
18. Clock
19. Calculator
20. Sound recorder

List of Microsoft apps on Surface Duo:

1. Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Office Lens, PDF Reader, and more
2. Microsoft Outlook
3. Microsoft Teams
4. Microsoft OneDrive
5. Microsoft Edge
6. Microsoft OneNote
7. Microsoft To Do
8. Microsoft News
9. Microsoft Authenticator
10. Microsoft Bing Search
11. Intune Company Portal
12. LinkedIn
13. Microsoft Solitaire Collection
14. Surface Audio

List of other apps if you buy the phone from AT&T:

1. HBO MAX (AT&T)
2. AT&T TV (AT&T)
3. My AT&T (AT&T)
4. Call Protect (AT&T)
5. Amazon Shopping (AT&T)
6. NBA (AT&T)

Pricing

• $1,399 for 128GB + 6GB of RAM.
• $1,499 for 256GB + 6GB of RAM.

Pre-order links

• Microsoft Store.
• AT&T.
• Best Buy.

Release date

• September 10.