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Microsoft Surface Duo – Dual-screen Android phone
- michaelcampbell 6y agoI love the looks of this phone and I think I could make use of the features, but I'm not $1400-curious. I guess I'm cheap, but I'll be fine with a Pixel 4a at $350.
- tasogare 6y agoYes, $1400 for a phone based on the concept that might be unusable in practice is quite a high price tag. Also, we all know how much Microsoft paid attention to device updating in the past. If this is not a huge commercial success (and it won’t), this will be forgotten in 18 months by MS.
- emodendroket 6y agoI have a Pixel 2 XL and until the battery starts failing or they stop updating the software it's hard to see much reason to upgrade. It used to be really noticeable every time you got a new phone how much faster it was but I think that's kind of plateaued if you don't use your phone for anything too exotic.
- Roritharr 6y agoI'm on the same phone and if I wouldn't have kids I'd agree, but the dropped frames on video recording and lack of optical zoom make me eyeing the new Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra if they decide to make it available in Europe.
- emodendroket 6y agoI don't doubt that Xiaomi makes good stuff, but with the current political situation I'd be hesitant to buy any Chinese Android phone because I'd be afraid of them getting cut off from the Google ecosystem like Huawei (who also made great phones and the only smartwatch I actually liked using) did.
- Roritharr 6y agoI'm also considering the Samsung Note 20 Ultra for this very reason, but I really loathe Samsung Software so I'm hesitant.
- emodendroket 6y agoSamsung is all over the place; some stuff they make is great and others I rue having bought.
- gabrielsroka 6y agoPixel 2 XL will get updates until October 2020.
- justaguyhere 6y agodumb question - why do phones cost so much? for 1400, we can get a pretty good laptop. Is it harder to make phone hardware than laptop hardware - because of size etc?
- tonyedgecombe 6y agoWhat it costs to make is irrelevant to the price, it's all about what people are willing to pay. Phones have become indespensible for many people, it's easy to justify spending more on something you use all the time.
- majewsky 6y agoBecause there's a market, and because having an expensive phone goes a long way to making it feel premium.
- Aardwolf 6y agoHas anyone ever released a two-sided phone, with a screen on each side (so the opposite idea of one that closes like this, no hinges)? Bonus points if they're two independent phones but sharing the same battery, e.g. for company phone and personal phone
- onion2k 6y agoWhy would you want a device with two screens where you can only look at one of them at a time? It'd make a lot more sense to have a single screen and a switch (maybe in hardware?) to toggle between "screen 1" and "screen 2".
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- T-A 6y agoA low power e-ink screen on one side for reading e-books and the like, an ordinary screen on the other for video, games and other things which need low latency and full color. It's been tried a few times but never really took off: https://www.eink.com/mobile-wearables.html?type=application&id=3 https://www.eink.com/mobile-wearables.html?type=application&...
- emodendroket 6y agoYou just really enjoy worry about screen scratches
- cbartlett 6y agoYotaphone + 3 has this, the display on the back is an eInk display.
- mcintyre1994 6y agoNot sure if The Verge have just screwed up the gif, but this looks painfully slow here: https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wJ90NeII7udsc85i4mlHznodfmQ=/1200x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/21729328/surfaceduoandroidapps.gif https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wJ90NeII7udsc85i4mlHznodfmQ=...
- bombela 6y agoLooks like my pixel3a. Modern software at its finest.
- bzb4 6y agoThat’s how it usually works on android.
- bscphil 6y agoCould be screen recording slowing it down, plus the low FPS makes the animation look janky. (Just a guess.)
- slezyr 6y agoEven with so low FPS count and quality it's size is 5MB. People should stop using GIF for videos.
- maxbaines 6y agoMuch like the new IMac 27" look at those bezels. Compare it to the Surface Pro X, it looks like its from the 2000's
- homero 6y agoLooks useful for Office work on the go but the price is steep.
- scarface74 6y agoOr you could just get any other Android or iPhone and run Office on it.
- pavlov 6y agoThe physical size is close to the much-loved 1990s PDA, Psion Series 5: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psion_Series_5 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psion_Series_5 Of course this device is dual touchscreen, so it doesn’t have the tactile keyboard that made the Psion so popular with writers on the road. Still, it’s interesting to see a big tech company make another attempt at the “pocket laptop” form factor.
- cstross 6y agoThe spiritual successor to the Psion Series 5 is the Cosmo Communicator: https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/cosmo-communicator https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/cosmo-communicator Similar size, but has the classic Psion keyboard (it was designed by the same guy, Martin Riddiford) and runs Android or Linux. As a phone, it has an external 2.5" touchscreen. I've got to say that the software lacks polish -- Planet Computers are a very small firm -- and while the design is an improvement over their earlier Gemini PDA, it's not a great phone. I have higher hopes for next year's model, the Astro Slide, which seems to combine the best of the "pocket laptop" and touchscreen worlds (assuming they get it to work properly): https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/astro-slide-5g-transformer/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/astro-slide-5g-transforme... ... Oh, and it's about half the price of the Surface Duo (which looks vastly more polished but also rather expensive).
- whalesalad 6y agoThey’ll sell dozens!
- woofie11 6y agoWell, there's a few possibilities: * They'll sell dozens, and everyone will give up. * They'll sell dozens, iterate a few times, and I'll have a nice device. * They'll sell dozens, someone else will iterate, and I'll have a nice device. I think you're right that it will be the first (Microsoft doesn't have much stick-to-it-ness), but I'm really hoping for the second or third. I really want a device like this. I'm definitely not buying a V1 Microsoft device to become a beta tester for $1400, though. Microsoft devices don't tend to work well until V2 or V3.
- justaguyhere 6y agoI really want a device like this Just curious, what is your use case?
- woofie11 6y agoAnywhere where one might use two windows on a computer: * Seeing two pages of a book * Looking up something on the internet while videoconferencing * Looking up something in a textbook in a web browser while reading a book * Same as above, but with two web pages (e.g. API docs and protocol docs, or comparing two products, or whatever) The ability to have multiple applications open and visible at the same time is really quite general. It's the reason we made the move from DOS/dumb terminals to Windows/X/MacOS. It's just often helpful to have a few things up at once. I'd use this all the time. I don't mind carry something big and ugly around. I'm a nerd, and not too concerned with fashion, so much as with practicality. Heck, with the right software, I might consider investing in a compact bluetooth keyboard and mouse to go along with it. That would give a nice intermediate between lugging around my (big) laptop and not.
- whalesalad 6y agoThe only people who will buy this device are folks with disposable income who want a status symbol. International exchange students from the UAE and HK come to mind.
- swiley 6y agoAnother expensive android? Why don’t they just sell a phone with desktop windows on it? That could actually compete.
- dennisnedry 6y agoMicrosoft abandoned their Windows Mobile OS years ago.
- alkonaut 6y agoWindows 10 for ARM is far from abandoned. It could probably run on a device like this.
- pjc50 6y agoYes, but that wasn't desktop Windows. In fact it inflicted some brand damage on desktop windows, back in the Win8 era, by moving all the new stuff to Metro. (I'm not sure there's ever been a proper decent portable/handheld that ran Real Windows; there's tiny laptops from the Libretto to the GPD Pockect, which is a nice machine. Or there were handhelds that ran Windows CE back in the PDA era. And I've seen very cheap 8" tablets. But a phone-size form factor? Not quite. I suspect the never completely fixed UI scaling is a problem there.)
- emodendroket 6y agoTrying to press controls intended for desktop Windows on that tiny screen would be an exercise in frustration. Trying using RDP software on your phone and see how productive it is.
- ta17711771 6y agoIf I have to make two remote desktop connections lasting ten minutes each per workday from the beach, which machine am I bringing: my phone/this? Or a full laptop? Not as obvious a decision for some.
- bluedino 6y agoA single camera seems like a drawback.
- slezyr 6y agoWhy would you need more than one camera?
- leokennis 6y agoFor one thing, on iPhones it enables the portrait mode.
- zapzupnz 6y agoMultiple sensors behind multiple lenses with different focal ranges being able to take multiple images simultaneously and then stitch them together is how the back camera works on most modern high end smart phones. Or using each camera individually for the best photo. Bonus points for those that employ ML to optimise the result.
- jablan 6y agoTo justify the $1400.
- dennisnedry 6y agoJust curious, is a user supposed to put the device up to their ear to make a phone call? Or is the expectation to use a bluetooth headset?
- tonyedgecombe 6y agoYou want to make phone calls on it? I don't think that is coming until version 3.
- millerm 6y agoGood questions. I was looking for a "phone side". To make, or receive a call you have to use two hands to open that thing up and use it? Is anti-ergonomic a design? How can you see who's calling? Even something as simple as the time we've all had since the 90's? Missed messages? Voicemail waiting? Any type of control, or info, requires you to open up the tiny laptop? Or you have to basically wear a Bluetooth headset at all times? Wow, that would be awful. Even the flip-phones of yore allowed you to see who was calling without opening the phone and, opening just required a flick of the thumb. Perhaps there are some indicators under the front/back of the closed body that we just don't know about? I'm not being anti-microsoft, but it looks like someone just brought back the netbook.
- s3r3nity 6y agoDon't work for Apple/MSFT/Google, but have knowledge of usage data for various smart-phone OS's: you'd be surprised at how _calling_ has become a minor use case across the board when it comes to smart phones. It's now a "feature" that primarily caters to power users: if you use calling, you use it a lot - otherwise the user tends to use messaging / texting / other medium (like FaceTime.) Therefore my design guess is that Microsoft is aiming for the video call / bluetooth headset, and will take the hit in terms of awkwardness for holding up to your ear for some calls.
- dade_ 6y agoThe Samsung Fold and Huawei Mate X makes this thing an anachronism. It reminds me of a BlackBerry Playbook vs an iPad. How embarrassing.
- rwc 6y ago"Microsoft is also using algorithms to predict how to open apps on different displays. 'There is an algorithm in there that’s very smart and trying to be predictive,' explains Panay. “If you’re on one screen and you’re invoking a link, it will fill the other screen." That's if/then statements. You invented if/then statements.
- brian_herman__ 6y agoNah bro we used a GAN to predict the decision tree.
- wilhil 6y agoIt reminds me when I was at a user group at Microsoft for the launch of the new Windows Phone OS... ... The guy gave a long marketing speech about how "beautiful" it was, how they did so much user research on what people wanted and spent a fortune developing and using a brand new font for the interface(s). Then, someone stuck their hand up and said "Is it true that you don't have copy/paste features yet?" Why can't people learn... things may be important, but no one cares about the technicalities... I don't care if this is algorithm, AI, ML... neural network processing or some other fancy new term... ... just give the user a setting for what screen something should pop up on and everyone will be happy!
- emodendroket 6y agoThe iPhone also didn't have copy and paste for a while. And the trade-off with more options is they're work to maintain and users are confused by them.
- wilhil 6y agoYep - but, the iPhone came from nowhere, and, "no copy and paste" was put out by Microsoft to say how bad it was... Microsoft basically took a backwards step from Windows CE and then did the same years after it was the norm in other systems.
- dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago
- pjc50 6y agoSo .. is this the first Microsoft Android phone? Or is it something weird that happens to run Android apps?
- raihansaputra 6y agoFull Android. They have a simulator for public already for the past few months.
- tedk-42 6y agoWow the pricing is ridiculous. It's using last year's flagship CPU and has two screens with a hinge. Be interesting to see how it sells but I'm not convinced it's a good buy.
- tabs_masterrace 6y agoKinda like it. Looks like a Nintendo DS to me :) Could be a productivity power house in a nice compact form factor. I'm not the guy that checks his phone every 15 mins. but when I"m on a train for a bit, something like this would be amazing. My question would be if it houses the stylus somewhere? Wouldn't want to carry that around separately. Price is pretty steep, but about the same as an iPhone 11 Pro Max with storage option, still one hell of a luxury purchase, not sure how reasonable this will be these days. Has to be top build quality and pretty much flawless though.
- jablan 6y agoI like it too, but with that price, I'm definitely not a target group. It's a nerdy device with a luxury price.
- gcristofol 6y agoI feels like that format is not that different from what the LG Dual Screen™ for LG G8X ThinQ would offer. A dual screen case, it could have some nice use cases with the proper hardware but difficult to justify the price
- emodendroket 6y agoLG makes one like this already, the G8X.
- AnonHP 6y agoI love the concept and how things flow between the two screens, but it looks really weird when held to the ear for a call. I don’t like large screens and this one just seems too large to be called a “phone”...”phablet” seems a more appropriate term.
- brudgers 6y agoThe Microsoft Courier concept finally after more than a decade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmIgNfp-MdI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmIgNfp-MdI
- Feolkin 6y agoMan, I'd love to get this but that price is steep. I just hate how small smartphone displays are in general and how constrained multitasking is. Say I'm chatting with somebody and I nerd a source for something I'm arguing. I need to switch from the chat app, browse for a while, copy, switch, paste, keep typing. And if I need more than one, that's a whole lot of switching back and forth which is fairly slow and tedious and breaks the context I'm in every single time. Doesn't just go for chatting. Sometimes I'm writing something and need a reference. Switching back and forth every couple of seconds is unbearable. If I can get away with it, I'd rather pull out my tablet, but I also don't always have it with me.
- ilmiont 6y agoPathetic. I’ve never once thought “oh I know what this phone needs, a second screen, that forces me to ‘open’ it and makes one handed use impossible.” I should add I’ve nothing against Microsoft and used Windows Phone / Windows 10 Mobile until the end of 2018. But dual screen devices are dead in the water I think.