Between this and the Samsung Fold it feels like we have entered into the netbook (form factor) era* void. We're past peak smartphone development and are in this space where manufacturers are stumbling around for the next "it" device but creating nothing that is truly revolutionary. Yes, there are "some" use cases where a larger screen on my mobile device would be useful…. But by-and-large I still want it to fit in my pocket and be comfortable navigating single handedly . Adding dual screen & doubling the device thickness is not the solution I am looking for.<p>*Netbooks were low-powered mobile devices (basically mini laptops) that launched in 2007 and basically disappeared (as a viable market category) after the iPad and its kind were launched in 2010.<p>EDIT added "form factor" for clarification
IMHO, the hinged - but separate - displays are a much better idea than the Samsung foldable display. At least for now.<p>I don't think the reliability of a truly foldable display (e.g. Samsung's Galaxy Fold) will be very good until another couple versions of generational improvements.
Personally I don't see the attractive in dual screen devices unless we reach Westworld-like devices that are super thin and can go from phone to large tablet that can potentially replace a laptop.<p>Otherwise it's just a thick phone that converts to 2 phones...<p>In case anyone hasn't seen Westworld: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3dD7jOLaes" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3dD7jOLaes</a>
I'm going to pick one up regardless, but if they can bring Windows 10 X to this device, and provide a docking experience that expands to approximate a full PC, the result would be fantastic.
I like how on the Duo and larger Neo Microsoft just embraced the fact that foldable OLED isn't ready for prime time yet and instead tried to engineer the seam with as much aesthetic and engineering quality possible.
It took almost 30 years since the kernel was released, but Microsoft is officially releasing something with a Linux based operating system. Pretty wild to think about.
Remember the Courier?<p><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Courier" rel="nofollow">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Courier</a>
Video of announcement.<p><a href="https://youtu.be/dmaioTs0NH8?t=5111" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/dmaioTs0NH8?t=5111</a><p>The bigger dual screen device is the Surface Neo.
Given how badly they flubbed their entries into smartphones, I'm kind of glad they are trying again in this new form-factor. Given that it's relying on Android, it should have more staying power than before (and an app store that isn't awful).
It's odd that they would announce it's powered by a Snapdragon 855--a chip which is already a year old, and will be two years old by the time this device actually launches. Hopefully they'll upgrade that before launch.
1. Is Windows Mobile Dead?<p>2. Does anyone remember the name of a similar Microsoft notebook that was teased 5-10 years ago? It was a foldable notebook and notetaking device kind of like Remarkable. I wonder if this is the spiritual child of that.
I like the idea of dual screen on the phone, its quite natural to browse two related pages at the same time and will improve that kind of experience. Will it have pen support?<p>However i'm very dubious of what the dual screen experience will be like bolted on top of Windows (NEO) and Android (DUO).<p>Somehow in my humble opinion Apple have been able to run rings around Google and Microsoft when it come's to pure UX in mobile tech and given the past history i fully expect that true in the future.<p>This is where i expect DUO will stumble, in the same way that Samsung fails with its extensions and bolt on's.
All this time my old Nintendo DS Lite had been gathering dust in the drawer because I thought it was strictly for <i>games</i>; now I realize its true calling is to be a phone!
Ah, looks like Microsoft finally got around to producing some more gimmicks.<p>The catastrophe that is the Samsung folding phone didn’t send a strong enough message to the industry I guess.
I really hope that we see a single-screen Surface phone in the future.<p>IMO, Microsoft have done a fantastic job with the Surface Book. If they could replicate that high-end build quality while providing a solid feature set and a clean Android build, I can't see it not selling well. Throw a headphone jack in, and I'd wait in line for it!<p>The dual screen is interesting, but I don't see its use just yet.
Another android phone.<p>These are all just wrappers around the latest qualcomm snapdragon with whatever twist the hardware manufacture wants to add. Basic functionality in all of them will be badly broken and there's more or less nothing you can do to fix it.<p>At least the iphone ships with an ssh client and scripting environment now. (not that I'm an iphone fan, it has it's own problems.)
Is the split screen device market a new upcoming segment or is it supposed to be replacing an existing one? I've never thought that I need two iPhones or two iPads connected to one another in a book like fashion like this. Who's the market demographic for this type of product?
I understand why they went with Android but I'm disappointed they didn't go with .NET. I've avoided iOS and Android development because I'm not a fan of those development environments. I would actually develop mobile apps if it was .NET.
> The Surface Duo features two 5.6-inch displays that can rotate 360 degrees, allowing it to be fully unfolded as a miniature unfold to 8.3-inch tablet.<p>Unless I'm misunderstanding, it seems like you wouldn't ever need more than 270 degrees.
I've been missing my Nexus 7 since it finished dying and have been wishing for a device with this form factor for years... but with a heavily-skinned custom android distro I'm not touching it with a ten-foot pole. MS isn't <i>awful</i> about release cadence and bugfix latency, certainly not as bad as cell network providers or traditional phone OEMs, but there's a reason I run stock android on Droid/Nexus/Pixel devices. Maybe if I can install a stock android ROM on the thing.<p>(Disclaimer: work at Google, totally unrelated product, not the opinion of my employer, etc.)
this looks way better than the Samsung Fold. if you haven't yet, watch a durability video on the Fold. the display is plastic and will get scratched from basically anything (even your fingernail). Microsoft's version has glass. also nice that it's using Android.<p>but...how will I mount it in the car for GPS?
I'm not sure if everyone forgot a day ago, but if Microsoft had just removed the offline account setting on Windows 10, what could be the likelihood that they could just enforce it in the Surface Line up, even including the Android products?<p>Nice looking Surface lineup and hardware nevertheless, but after Microsoft removing that offline setting, I think that was a big turn off and a no deal from me for now, unless they reverse that atrocious decision to using online accounts only.