Meet The Surface Duo, Microsoft’s Attempt At Creating A Foldable Smartphone

Ever since Microsoft launched their Surface tablets and laptops, one device missing from that category is a smartphone. For years, we have heard rumors that a Surface smartphone could be in the works, and now it looks like the device has finally showed up, although not necessarily in the way you might think.

At Microsoft’s hardware event, the company surprised everyone when they took the wraps off the Surface Duo. This is a smartphone from Microsoft that bears the Surface branding and surprisingly, it is both an Android handset and also a foldable device.

However, unlike the Samsung Galaxy Fold or Huawei Mate X that uses a true foldable display, this is more like a hinged device with a display on both sides, with each side measuring 5.6-inches that when combined and unfolded, gives users an 8.3-inch display.

This is surprising because leading up the announcement, there was no indication that such a device could be announced. We have seen patents in the past that suggested that Microsoft could be exploring the idea of foldable smartphones, so it’s actually interesting and a pleasant surprise to see it realized.

Unfortunately, in terms of specs, the Surface Duo is said to be running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset, and given that the time the phone will be released, which is 2020, it would be considered “old” by tech standards. There is no word on the rest of the specs or how much it could cost, but if the prices of the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X are any indication, it won’t come cheap.