The Surface Duo just arrived at PCMag, and although I'm not supposed to turn the Android-powered, dual-screen $1,399 phablet on yet (as part of my reviewer's agreement), I'm already impressed by the material design of Microsoft's first smartphone since 2016. Check it out up close in the video below.
The Surface Duo doesn't have killer internal specs; you're paying a premium for the design. Specifically, the hinge bends back 360 degrees, like a 2-in-1 PC does, and each half of the phablet is super slim, making the whole thing just 0.4 inches thick when folded. That means I can fit the Surface Duo into both my front and back pockets, which is impressive. Yes, it's chunky—it really does fill up that pocket. But it's just on the phone side of tablet.
The Surface Duo fits in my back pocket
The Duo also comes with an adhesive rubber bumper, which I stuck on. After all, the phone is a supremely slim slab of shimmery Gorilla Glass outside and in, and while the screen doesn't feel fragile the way the Samsung Galaxy Fold's plastic screen does (after all, the screen itself isn't flexible), I wouldn't want to drop this thing unprotected on a corner. The rubber bumper also makes the Duo less likely to slide off a table.
The rubber bumper adds a little bit of thickness and a lot of protection
Folded closed, the Surface Duo is less tall than a top-end smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, and surprisingly it isn't thicker, but of course it's wider. Held in the hand, it feels more like a small ebook reader than a phone because of its wider aspect ratio, and it's definitely a two-handed experience. I look forward to watching some videos on it.
Most Android devices don't have a 'table tent' mode
Under the hood, the Surface Duo has the specs of a device that's been in the oven a long time. It uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, last year's processor, with a single 11-megapixel camera and two 5.6-inch, 1,800-by-1,350 screens. It has 6GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage, and connects to the internet using LTE or Wi-Fi, not 5G.
The reviewer's kit also comes with Surface Earbuds
Other than the unusual form factor, what you're paying $1,400 for is Microsoft's custom twist on Android software, proclaiming that it'll make the two screens more productive by letting you open links from one screen on the other, or flinging content from one to the other. I'll be sure to look at that closely as I explore the Surface Duo over the upcoming weeks, so check back soon for more.