Microsoft's dual-screen Surface Duo: Specs emerge, suggesting it'll cost less than Galaxy Fold
Microsoft's SurfaceNeo dual-screen Windows 10X devices look unlikely to arrive in 2020, but the Android Surface Duo dual-screen smartphone could be unveiled ahead of the original target of the 2020 US holiday season, with new details on its spec now emerging.
Microsoft released tools for app developers targeting the Surface Duo in January and earlier this month updated the tools ahead of Build 2020, its two-day developer conference scheduled to begin on Tuesday. Build will be held online this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Smartphones
Unnamed Windows Central sources have now disclosed what consumers can expect from the Microsoft Surface Duo, though prices remain unknown at this stage.
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The Surface Duo will reportedly run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, the same processor Samsung used in its first foldable phone, the $2,000 Galaxy Fold.
If the specs are right, the internals of Microsoft's foldable Android phone will be about half that of the Galaxy Fold, featuring 6GB of RAM with either 64GB or 256GB of storage with no expandable storage. It is also tipped to feature an 11-megapixel camera.
The Surface Duo is markedly different to the Galaxy Fold: it doesn't employ Samsung's bendable, unified OLED display and has no outward-facing screen. Instead, two separate 5.6-inch displays held together by Microsoft-designed hinges open to become an 8.3-inch display phone-tablet.
The internal specs and, use of two non-bendable displays, could be good news for Surface fans hoping for a more affordable foldable Android than the cutting-edge Galaxy Fold.
To compensate for the absence of the outward-facing screen, Microsoft has developed a 'peek' feature that lets users check who's calling by half-opening the device before answering a call.
Plus Microsoft's 360-degree hinge allows users to open up the device beyond tablet posture and hold it like a big phone when taking a call, or hold it more like a book and view the home screen on one side while using an app on the other side.
SEE: Microsoft updates its emulator for its dual-screen Surface Duo device
According to Windows Central, the two Duo AMOLED displays will have a 4:3 aspect ratio and a 1,800 x 1,350 pixel resolution.
Besides that, it will have one USB-C port, a nanoSIM slot, and a 3,450mAh battery and will support the Surface Pen.
It will ship with Android 10, but Windows Central sources say it will be updated to Android 11 relatively quickly.