![]() And equally importantly, it demonstrates that there is a way to do so without backing into the trappings of the first generation of foldables. While the Surface Duo is, indeed, a phone, it’s one that represents exciting potential for the category. It’s no wonder that this is the first device I’ve seen in a while that legitimately had the TechCrunch staff excited. Aesthetically, at least, this thing is terrific. Microsoft was, however, excited to show off the hardware - and for good reason. That was due, in part, to the fact that the software wasn’t quite ready at the time of writing. ![]() The last time I wrote about the Duo, it was a “ hands-on” that only focused on the device’s hardware. It’s clear that, unlike the ZTE product, the Duo was created from the ground up. Microsoft, on the other hand, immediately sets its efforts apart with some really solid design. ![]() Launched at the height of ZTE’s experimental phase, it felt like, at best, a shot in the dark. In that case - as with others - the device very much felt like two smartphones stuck together. Microsoft is far from the first company to take a dual-screen approach, of course. That introduces other problems, however, including a sizable gap and bezel combination that puts a decided damper on watching full-screen video. Microsoft sidesteps this by simply connecting two screens. ![]() The true pain point of foldables has always been the screen itself. Motorola’s first foldable, meanwhile, was a flat-out dud.Īnnounced at a Surface event last year, the Duo takes an entirely different approach to the screen problem - one that has strengths and weaknesses when pitted against the current crop of foldables. That product finally launched in China, but seemed to disappear from the conversation in the process. Of course, Samsung’s Galaxy Fold stumbled out of the gate, leaving other devices like the Huawei Mate X scrambling. After years of promise, the technology finally arrived as screens appeared to be hitting an upper limit. Breakthroughs in recent years also appear to have gotten us close to a saturation point in terms of screen-to-body ratio.įoldable screens are a compelling way forward. Mobile devices are currently brushing up against the upper threshold of hardware footprint, in terms of what we’re capable of holding in our hands and willing to carrying around in our pockets. What many manufacturers do seem to agree on is that the next breakthrough in mobile devices will be the ability to fit more screen real estate into one’s pocket. That it hasn’t yet has more to do with external forces (the pandemic caught practically everyone off guard), but even so, it hardly represents some radical departure for mobile hardware. Next-gen wireless was supposed to give the industry a temporary kick in the pants. It’s a worthy pursuit in some respects.Īfter all, for all of the innovations we’ve seen in mobile in the past decade, the category feels static. It wants to be at the vanguard of how we use our devices, going forward. The company doesn’t simply want to be a hardware manufacturer - there are plenty of those in the world. The Duo is an ambitious device that is very much about Microsoft’s own ambitions with the Surface line. Heck, maybe the company is worried that the idea of a Microsoft Phone still leaves a bitter taste in some mouths. Asked to define it as such, the company has had the tendency to deflect with comments like, “Surface Duo does much more than make phone calls.” Which, to be fair, it does. In the early days, Microsoft had misgivings about calling the Surface Duo a phone.
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