One year ago, Microsoft finally made its move in the smartphone business after the Windows Phone fiasco. Rather than betting on regular smartphones, the company decided to jump in the new trending foldable segment with the Microsoft Surface Duo. Well, the Surface Duo isn’t exactly a foldable handset but a dual-screen device with a hinge that separates both screens. However, the big icing on the cake is on some software features. These features justify and expand the usability of this dual-screen concept. The device only reached the market this year with a rather expensive price tag of $1,399 for the variant with 128GB of Internal Storage. It wasn’t as expensive as 2020 foldable devices, but the problem is that the phone has the last year’s Snapdragon 855 and lacks 5G connectivity. Well, Microsoft is making the device more attractive now with a $200 price cut.
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The device with 128GB storage now retails at $1199. But if you need extra storage, the 256GB variant also got the same price cut and now retails at $1,299. It’s not too expensive if you want to make an entrance in a “foldable-like” device. However, according to GSMArena’s report, the device does not have the best build quality as a foldable device. Moreover, it’s not really easy to repair. We don’t expect any of these foldable devices to come with an easily repairable build anyway. For that reason, Microsoft is giving a step further by offering an Accidental Damage Coverage plan. It costs $200 and covers all mechanical and accidental damage for two years. Now, users can get the device and a long warranty that covers accidental damage for the old price.
Microsoft Surface Duo specs
The Microsoft Surface Duo flaunts two identical 5.6-inch AMOLED displays that when combine “create” a full 8.1-inch display experience with 2,700×1,800 pixels of resolution. The device has an 11MP camera and 6GB of RAM combined with the processing power of the Snapdragon 855 in its vanilla version. The dual-screen device has a 3,577mAh battery, and we have to say, that this is a disappointing amount for feeding two displays. The device comes with Android OS but has a set of Microsoft exclusive apps and features to give you a reason to get a dual-display handset. It’s a dual-SIM device. The only drawback right now is its availability. For now, Microsoft only sells it in the US and there’s no word about global availability yet.
