After Windows Phone was discontinued, it was quiet for a long time regarding smartphones and Microsoft. Until the Surface Duo was announced for the first time last year. Microsoft’s hardware department tried its hand at a smartphone again – but this time with Android instead of an in-house operating system. At the same time, this made them one of the first manufacturers to launch a foldable smartphone. Although not with a full-length display, like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold. Unfortunately, the first Surface Duo still had some teething problems, such as an older processor, mediocre camera and poor battery life. Now Microsoft has announced the successor to the Surface Duo, promising to rectify the shortcomings of the first version.
Starting with the hardware: this year, they didn’t let themselves down and installed a SnapDragon 888 with 5G as the SoC – the same chip that is also installed in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 or OnePlus 9 Pro. In addition, 8 GB of LPDDR5 working memory is available. Thus, the Surface Duo 2’s performance should now be able to catch up with other flagships. Storage options are 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB. The battery amounts to 4449 mAh and can be charged with 23 watts via the separately available Surface power adapter.
The screens have also received a decent update. When opened up, the two screens span a total of 8.3 inches diagonally and have a joint resolution of 2688 x 1892 pixels. The Surface Duo 2 has also been equipped with an adaptive refresh rate. With an adaptive refresh rate of 90 Hz, the displays are not quite as fast as those in the Surface Pro 8 or Surface Laptop Studio, but should still enable smooth working. The Surface Duo 2 also supports input via the Surface Pen, which enables fast work on the go. The Pen Cover is available to store the pen directly on the device.
The biggest improvements have been made to the cameras. On the back, there is now a triple camera with a 12 MP main, 12 MP telephoto and 16 MP Ultrawide camera. There is also another 12 MP camera on the inside of the device. Judging by the pictures that Microsoft has shown, the new Surface Duo 2 should now be in the league of other flagship smartphones in the camera department as well.
On the software side, Microsoft has revised its launcher for the Surface Duo 2. The design now strongly resembles the fluid design of Windows 11, which makes the Surface Duo 2 look more integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem. In addition, there are interesting new features, such as notifications that are displayed in the hinge, making them easy to see even when folded.
Starting at 1599€, the Surface Duo 2 is now available for pre-order. It will then be available from October 21.
