Microsoft Surface Duo 128GB (Unlocked) – Glacier
Open two screens and open new possibilities. Surface innovation comes to a mobile device, featuring the best of Microsoft 365, every Android™ app in the Google Play store, phone calls, and more.*
$1,399.99 $949.99
Specification: Microsoft Surface Duo 128GB (Unlocked) – Glacier
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Chris –
DO NOT LISTEN TO THE YOUTUBERS! First off this is a productivity device that can make phone calls and receive test messages and do everything else a phone can do and do well it does. This is the most beautiful and most solid built device ever period. The 2 screens are amazing. I ordered mine through AT&T and call quality and signal strength is excellent. Its fast, and even though it only has one speaker it sounds crystal clear. It has taken a few days to get use to the gestures but now that I have mastered that its been great. The camera is pretty good and actually better than I thought it would be. Battery life is amazing it has lasted me a day and a half easy. As one reviewer stated I can”t put this device down every since I got it. Bluetooth has been excellent with no issues connects to my car and playing music and answering phone calls have been perfect.
Krag –
The surface duo is very unique to hold, it has that premium device feel that many devices today lack. I’ve spent two days with this device now and here’s everything I learned.
The big test, apps. For me Twitter, telegram, Instagram, YouTube, and discord are a huge part of everyone’s, and my personal day to day routine. The duo can run two apps side by side or stacked depending on the orientation it’s in. There’s a small annoying bug with the keyboard as it likes to pop up when your in stacked mode and scrolling during a YouTube video. This was present in the demo model and is present in my own Duo. Other social media platforms run very nice, Twitter, telegram and discord look normal in both orientations on each of the 5.6 inch displays. Instagram isn’t optomized at this point in time but it does run on the device.
The 5.6 inch displays have one flaw. No high refresh rate. You can tell they jitter when you scroll but it’s not horrible. It’s actually livable, we will have to wait and see what gaming is like with this device on September 15th of this year.
Screen sync when scrolling using full screen mode (spanning one app between both screens (my test was with edge)) is mediocre at best but is fixable with proper updates, it’s a software thing. During their conference in August they talked about how each screen is dynamically synced to match frame for frame with no jittering or distortion. Sadly this isn’t the case, there’s a lag when flick scrolling. It’s very noticible but the screens do align with one another pixel wise. I doubt this is my unit only, as it is present in the demo models in our store.
Sadly it’s biggest flaw is the camera… It lacks definition and quality that my current phone, a note 9, packs. It has some qualities to it but is more representative of…. A Webcam. Video is jittery, and the shutter lag is abysmal. Possibly fixable with software. The colors and overall definition of the camera are also very dull and reminiscent of older phone tech. A miss but not this devices focus.
Sound quality via Bluetooth is spot on, it’s clean, crisp and doesn’t have lag. Like most modern phones and some tablet devices there is no 3.5mm headphone jack. Using a usbc to 3.5mm headphone jack is possible however, and it also has no lag and is very crisp and clear audio. This accessory is not included so, if you want to use your favorite corded headphones on this, your going to need to buy this separately.
Audio from the speaker is ok, you won’t be jamming out to music using internal speaker. Another thing to note here is its slightly on the quiet side with most of its alerts, I found that after fiddling with some settings I could get the speaker to pump out audible alerts. Careful choosing of your tones is a huge thing too, there are many quiet ring tones and alert tones in this.
Battery life destroys both my note 9 and older surface pro 4 in just three hours of use. I spent all day with this in my hands, opened many apps and downloaded all my apps and updated the device out of the box at 50%. It took five full hours to bring the battery to 12%, this isn’t doable with what I did on any of my current devices. Even now it’s sitting at 85% after further use.
Design and accessories. Included in the box is the longest USBC to USBC cable ever, along with a “rapid” charging power brick which gets this from 12% to 100% in just under 40 minutes. I can’t say I’ve had a fast charging device plug in and charge that quickly before. Sadly though we lack wireless charging. As for its other accessories you get a bumper which I put in twice and removed it twice. It takes away from the feel for me, giving it a duller edge yes but doesn’t alow it to fold flat, so for me Im keeping it off and waiting for a case to become available.
What is this devices purpose? Productivity. It is designed to bring the feeling of a Surface into the palm of your hands. It has its bugs and quirks yes, these can be fixed with updates but, if your looking for a device to get more done with, then give this a shot!
Last but not least it’s 4g lte no 5g.
So in all I enjoy the Surface Duo for what it is now and what it will become. It’s a keeper for me!
Patrick –
Love it, best phone I’ve ever had. Move over iPhone.
Missylove –
Nice size phone better then a iPhone or any phone
Two screen
You can do 2 or more things at one time
Watch movies without holding it
Good for being on the phone and taking notes
Or taking a class and taking notes
If you want to spend alot on a phone I would advise you to get this one
You would be so happy
Omarswg23 –
Had this for about a month and already right screen is flickering green non stop. I can’t return it and Microsoft is impossible to get ahold of for warranty replacement. The product is beautiful but complete trash and waste of money. Don’t recommend to anyone. Read online alot of people going through hardware issues with screen like me and no options to repair or replace it
Anonymous –
The Microsoft Surface Duo is a pleasant surprise for tech!
If you have an Android phone, this phone makes you think you have a very high end device. It’s familiar but new. It’s a fantastic experience!
It’s a beautiful device and holding it in your hands is definitely something I’d recommend even if you’re not looking to buy right away.
This device is very innovative and is a game changer. It’s not the Samsung Z Fold 2, it’s two screens held together by a beautifully engineered hinge.
The Surface Duo is awesome but it isn’t perfect.
Keep in mind that this is generation one of this product, bugs are apparent in the software but updates have and will be posted through it’s life cycle.
The camera is decent, not great. The speaker is mono, but doesn’t sound bad (just leaves more to be desired).
I bought the Duo and 3-4 weeks in… I’m pumped to be using it as my daily. It’s been extremely cool to own.
4/5 stars.
Steelers2k5 –
I have been waiting for the Surface DUO to come out since Microsoft first teased it at one of their events. I was crushed when all of the early reviews said to avoid it. Luckily, I decided to see for myself it was as bad as they were reporting. To my surprise, it wasn’t near as buggy as they described thanks to an update when you first boot up the phone. This device is by far the best hardware I have ever owned. It feels very premium and is light enough that I don’t realize how long I’ve been holding it. And unlike the LG G8x, the second screen is very functional. It’s wonderful being able to flick apps from one screen to another. And spanning a browser accross both screens is a great way to surf the web. Another cool feature is the ability to open two instances of the edge browser. Yup, you can view two websites at the same time. It’s a real productivity machine if that’s what you are looking for. In all fairness to the early reviews, they are correct when they describe the camera. To me, it’s like shooting photos with my Surface Pro. The photo is usable, just not as good as some of the Samsung phones. But for me, my phone is not my go to camera. And it’s unknown if Microsoft and Google will be able to fix the issues with the phone with a software update. That would be another pleasant surprise if they do. The duel screens and the rest of the hardware more than make up for any limitations of the camera. Also, it’s not as big/wide as reviewers suggest. Yes, it’s wider than other phones but I like the extra real-estate. And it fits comfortably in my pocket. I have no regret with this purchase or any other Surface device I have purchased in the past.
x7neil –
I ended up pre-ordering this directly through Microsoft. I must say after about 12 hours of heavy usage (and getting through a couple early software bugs) that the Surface Duo is something I just can’t put down!
I’ll start off the bat and say that initially, the phone was very buggy however one firmware update, play store updates, and a device restart later the Surface Duo pretty much behaved as it should of out of the box! There are the occasional quirks with gesture navigation that come up I’m assuming due to the two screen and it not being baked into Android 10 (support will be better with Android 11) – however, those are infrequent and not that much of a detriment.
My overall impressions are that Microsoft has nailed the hardware design out of the park – the hinge is so satisfying and it really is a joy to hold and use. The software side definitely needs some bug fixing and improvements but as it is right now it’s perfectly fine and usable (after doing all those initial updates) – once you start using two screens – especially the way Microsoft has implemented it – it is really hard to go back to a single screen device. Chrome got an update so it stops flickering on the Duo – however, I ended up migrating my Chrome Profile on my desktop into Edge and started using that on the Duo with Edge sync enabled. Edge has better optimization in span mode (display across both screens) so I started to use that – and it’s basically Chrome.
You do need to start getting accustomed to new workflows with the screen environment. For example, you can open two separate instances of Edge which is nice as well, and have one opened on each screen with its own set of tabs. Recent apps will show the recent apps open on that screen. You can have OneNote open on one screen while watching a Youtube video on another and take notes with a Surface Pen.
Some people do complain about the bezels but these help for the gesture controls and holding the device – while using the device you don’t really notice it once you are immersed.
Overall I will say the Pros of this device outweigh the Cons.
Pros :
– Two Screens!
– That Hinge! Different Postures – Compose Mode!
– Multitasking ease – two apps at once
– Battery life is optimized and lasts a full day.
– 3 years of updates guaranteed from Microsoft
Negatives :
– Price is high – I feel if this was priced around $999 at the time of release it would be a better buy – however, if you have a trade-in take advantage of trade-in bonuses (I did)!
– Software is still a little buggy and needs patching – mainly in gestures and device rotation – doesn’t occur all the time so its not that bad, but when it happens it can be annoying to many users
– The camera is average. Not bad. Not great. The software could improve it. Low light photos = not happening 🙂 Also the camera app needs fixing on the rotate feature – it works most times but others it doesn’t.
– Lack of modern flagship features – but not sure this matters much to most users looking at this device – NFC, Wireless Charging, 5G, etc,.
Tip for any prospective buyers: check the r/surfaceduo/ reddit for lots of tips and tricks and help from other Surface Duo users.
Enjoy!