Microsoft Surface Duo might be launched in July

Microsoft announced its entrance in the dual-display segment several months back. Despite the announcement in 2019, the device is yet to reach the market. That could have happened a few months ago, but the COVID-19 outbreak messed with the company’s plans. Firstly, the giant of the United States had to postpone the launch of Windows 10X – a dual-display focused version of its operating system. A new report comes to give some hope to the customers waiting for the dual-display phone. According to it, the Surface Duo Android device is coming as soon as next month. The company is doing everything it can to ensure that the new phone will arrive before the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2, which is coming on August 5.

I'm told Microsoft wants to launch Surface Duo before the Galaxy Fold 2 is announced. So, before August 5th? We're getting close. Assuming plans don't change, Surface Duo should start shipping in less than 2 months.

— Zac Bowden (@zacbowden) June 12, 2020

We’ve reached the first half of June, so it’s safe to assume that the Surface Duo will be revealed in the following weeks. Microsoft has a decent amount of time to build some hype for their new hardware. Of course, you should take this report with a pinch or two of salt. Microsoft still hasn’t announced any changes to its plans, which were for a Holiday quarter release. That sounds disappointing, but we have to agree that the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing companies to make some drastic changes to its release schedules. The things may be more difficult with a device that isn’t easy to manufacture.

Microsoft Surface Duo specifications

The Surface Duo is a device with two screens on two equal sides. There is a 360-degree hinge between them. So while neither display panel is foldable, that hinge will give plenty of use case flexibility. The device will be just 4.8mm thin when opened and thus 9.6mm thick when shut. A bunch of specifications of the device has been leaked already.

As we said before, both displays will be identical here – 5.6-inch AMOLED panels with 1800×1350 pixels of resolution and huge bezels. Under the hood, we’ll have the Snapdragon 855 from last year. Yeah, we know that this is an odd choice, especially when we take in consideration that devices that arrive on market with yesterday’s flagship SoC have never done well, sales-wise. However, the reason behind this choice has to do with the fact that Microsoft had finalized the Surface Duo’s internal design way before the Snapdragon 865 was a thing. Moreover, there’s simply no room inside for the X55 5G modem – It’s mandatory for companies using the 865 platform.

The device has 6GB of RAM in tow. That may be good enough for Google’s aspirations, but it’s just on par with mid-range smartphones offer right now. Flagship devices now start with 8GB and go up to 12GB of RAM. Despite the standard amount of RAM, the device will deliver 256GB of storage, but it’s not expandable. There’s a single camera with 11MP and f/2.0 aperture. There will be a fingerprint scanner and the battery is said to be 3,460mAh. I don’t know what you guys think, but personally, I believe that it’s too small for supplying two high-resolution displays.

Unfortunately, there’s no NFC and no wireless charging. As you might expect, the software will include all Microsoft Android apps straight out of the box. Moreover, it will support drag and drop gestures between two different apps and displays. However, not all third-party apps will support this feature. Developers will need to adapt apps for the Surface Duo.