General Surface Duo 2

[Ludatyk]

I’m curious what are people thoughts on it. For me, I like the design of the Surface Duo… the hardware is phenomenal, especially how well Microsoft has implemented the hinge. My only reservation is their implementation of Android… I’m just not a fan of it. And the top/bottom bezels are hideous.

If I had any input… I’ll tell Microsoft to team up with Samsung to build the Surface Duo. Don’t get me wrong... I prefer Microsoft idea of foldables compared to Samsung. And the most important reason is durability, when I fold/unfold my Galaxy Fold… for a split second I‘m thinking please don’t break.

With the Surface Duo, those concerns won’t bother me at all. I know some might not care for the split in the middle and it could be annoying looking at content. But I’m really hoping Microsoft don’t give up on it… I think they really need to revisit how they made the Surface Duo.

 

[maflynn]

I've seen that video and a few others and I can't say that I'm surprised by the criticisms. Yes the lack of an actual (or capable) camera in the first version was a huge oversight but having that ginormous bump (or as MKBHD) called it a mesa - its just something that ruins the whole experience.

An earlier design image which leaked out showed a "hole" or indent. I wished they made both halves a tad thicker and then had something like this built in so that the it could close completely when flipped around

 

[840quadra]

I am hoping there are more dual screen options that would provide the footprint / flexibility of the Z-Flip, but not flex the screen substrate. I just have strong reservations regarding the longevity of a screen material that bends at this point in time.

This device looks neat, I just would need to see more Android apps that can support the footprint and or tablet mode that doesn’t feel like a big phone app.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

I had a pre order that was supposed to be delivered today, instead received any empty box, so after hours of trying to get someone from Microsoft on the phone, was able to get it sorted out. But I ended up getting a refund and cancelling the order, as the reviews are talking about same issues I have with the first Duo.

I love the Duo form factor, I am more productive with it and when it works, is pretty great. Having two apps at the same time is great, and I still use my original Duo, but the software is extremely buggy, and just a very poor experience. Reviews show that still to be the case, which disappoints me. Maybe will try again next year.

 

[afallnstar]

I've been using my Duo 2 for a bit over a week now and it's been great. It's a secondary device that I use for work but I'm thoroughly enjoying the dual screens for productivity work, e.g. Zoom calls, email + Microsoft Teams, or email + Excel. As far as buggy software, I haven't had any issues. The phone unlocks quickly and I've maybe had one mishap in my week of usage.

 

[spinedoc77]

Microsoft is such an odd company. Stuff that even the most non tech person can see will become an issue is stuff that they still release. It's almost as if their engineers live in a secret world with no outside contact and can't gauge what works and what doesn't. They have this weird disconnect with a lot of stuff, Windows on ARM and the Surface Pro X is one of the latest examples, but they've done this as far back as we can remember, from Windows RT and even earlier with how badly they dropped the ball on Windows Mobile. They do occasionally get it right, I still feel the Surface Pro tablets are the absolute best tablets out there.

I can't understand how much more obvious it can be needing to be fully swung open to use the best camera is a huge non starter. Specifically the lack of being able to use the camera one handed is just a deal breaker for me as I use my camera a ton to capture my kids sports, parties, etc. Anyone who is a parent knows committing both your hands to something with kids around is just impossible. Heck video cameras in the 80s and 90s even solved this issue by adding a strap so you could hold them one handed. Add that to the idiotic decision to not have the fully opened phone lay flat due to the camera bump, I really just don't get that one.

But beyond that is just all the other stuff that makes little sense. Having the 2 separate screens still doesn't make much sense to me. Sure I sort of get it, the analogy of having one large PC monitor versus 2 smaller ones probably gets me the closest in understanding, but I guess personally I still feel that one huge PC monitor is still much better and more efficient. Maybe if MS was able to design it so when open the screens were actually touching, and didn't cut off screen elements, I don't know. But having used a Galaxy Fold 2 for a year I can tell you having one huge screen is just astronomically better than 2 small ones.

The only scenario I can really see this is as an add on PDA type device, leveraging the Office and MS ecosystem. But even that's a hard sell when a Galaxy Fold can do the same, and possibly even more due to MS' penchant for giving Android users a better experience with MS apps.