Microsoft is making a two-screen Android smartphone

Microsoft is returning to the world of smartphones with the Surface Duo, a two-screen smartphone powered by Android.

The Surface Duo has two 5.6-inch displays joined by a 360-degree hinge. When unfolded, the Surface Duo display measures in at 8.3-inches. You can fold the phone up like a laptop, you can lay it flat, you can use the second screen like a laptop keyboard, or you can fold the second display behind the first to make it a little more like a traditional smartphone.

While the Surface Duo might bring to mind the Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate X, it's a little more akin to the LG V50 Dual Display. The Surface Duo doesn't have one screen that bends, but two individual displays. It doesn't seem like you'll be able to use the Surface Duo as one large display for running a single app. Instead, each display can run two apps at the same time, or you can use the second display as a keyboard or game controller.

We found the LG V50 Dual Display to be a promising concept, but one that didn't quite work in execution. Typing with the Dual Display was challenging, attaching the second screen got in the way of using the camera and making phone calls, and it was just frustrating in general. It was barely an improvement over holding two phones at once. Hopefully, Microsoft is a little more thoughtful in its implementation of the dual-display concept.

On the plus side, two individual displays means the Surface Duo should be more durable than its truly foldable compatriots. Both screens are covered by Gorilla Glass, while foldables like the Galaxy Fold and Mate X have a plastic-coated display because glass doesn't bend. A plastic display won't shatter when you try and fold your foldable, but it's more prone to scuffs and scratches.

The Surface Duo won't be available until the 2020 holiday season, and Microsoft has yet to indicate pricing.

The Surface Duo will be joined by the Surface Neo (pictured above), a tablet with two 9-inch displays that become a 13-inch screen when unfolded. It will run Windows 10X, a new version of Windows 10 designed for dual-screen devices. Like the Surface Duo, it won't be available until late 2020.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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