4 ms·

I am not sure who this is for ? I don't want to sound negative (and have to admit I don't represent the whole population) so if this appeals to you, can you ex

I am not sure who this is for ? I don't want to sound negative (and have to admit I don't represent the whole population) so if this appeals to you, can you explain to me why please ? As much as I dream of the day where you will be able to just change your screen size on a whim, we don't have the tech yet. And it seems to me that if you need more screen estate, you will just get a tablet, not an hybrid ?

gowld 6y ago
It's an 8" screen (better than 4" or 6") that folds to a compact size where a tablet is too awkward to carry. They seem to think people use the phone has a handset without headphones/speaker, which is a bit strange.
jamesrcole 6y ago
The idea of it appeals to me. Phone size and weight, and thus portability, yet I can quickly and easily switch to viewing and working with the same details on a larger screen when that'd be useful. That can't be as effectively achieved with two separate devices.
Voliokis 6y ago
I currently own a Galaxy S6 Tab. I use it for note-taking and reading books (primarily non-fiction and technical PDFs). Portability is always an issue with tablets. I don't always have my tablet with me, and even when I do, it can be inconvenient to pull it out of my bag. This seems to be 5,6" closed, which sounds like something that might fit into my pants pocket, then I could always have it with me. I've tried using a recent Samsung Note, but found the lack of screen space too much of a constraint that I ended up selling it again fairly quickly. I'm definitely interested, though of course I'm not 100% sure it'll fit my needs until I actually try it for a week. The pricing is also iffy. I'm not sure I'm willing to give such an expensive device a try, especially with Microsoft's poor record when it comes to QA on their Surface line in general.
tw04 6y ago
I'm on the fence just based on the camera. Thats' my 1, 2 & 3 decision maker at this point with young kids. The universal feedback I've seen from peers who are considering the pre-order is: I can stop carrying around an iPad. $1399 replaces an ipad and a phone for them. Time will tell if the usability matches their expectations.
- on_and_off 6y ago
  I don't even have kids and camera is also the deciding factor for me. For that reason, seeing Marc Levoy calling it quit at Google makes me pessimistic for the next pixels. to be fair the 4 was already a bit underwhelming in that area (flagship level camera but unlike the previous generations it did not really push the enveloppe).
- spanhandler 6y ago
  Parent here. I won't buy a phone that doesn't have a good camera and take "live photos". The camera is the only reason I've not looked into getting rid of my smart phone entirely. I'd have to find some way to keep WhatsApp working, though, or else convince my entire contact list to migrate, and find a solution for MFA that works with everything from Steam to Github, so either of those might end up being blockers if I actually tried, but I'm not trying because I won't give up a good Internet-connected camera (=auto-backups) that takes live photos. I just gave it a quick DDG, and it looks like that still means my only option is iPhones (or 3rd-party apps on Android, but I am very skeptical the experience & results with those would be anywhere near as good).
  - on_and_off 6y ago
    by live photos you mean photos with a live 0.5 second video shot ? Android has been having this for a pretty long while as well, at least on pixel. Off the top of my head, no idea if this applies to the whole ecosystem (might be pixel only, might be google camera only (so that would apply to any phone where you can install this app) or it might even be a pixel feature but tons of OEMs have already duplicated it (that's not exactly a recent feature so I would not be surprised)
Rebelgecko 6y ago
The advantage is that it's a tablet in (roughly) a phone form factor. My Nexus tablet (7 inches) BARELY fits in my pants, and is a bit uncomfortable to carry around. I'm less interested in the productivity side of things, but this looks great for entertainment. I don't like reading ebooks on a phone-sized screen, which wouldn't be an issue. This could also be pretty neat for light gaming with Steam Link/Xbox Gamepass/Moonlight. I'm currently in a situation where I'm able to work remotely for a while, but I'm not going to bring my desktop with me if I spend a week at a cabin in the wilderness. At this price it's not quite worth it for me, but hopefully the Surface Duo does well and dual screen devices get a bit cheaper and add in features I care about like wireless charging
jclardy 6y ago
The idea of it sounds interesting to me. Not necessarily as a "phone" though, but more of an iPad replacement. The problems for me: 1. It runs android. While I hope that MSFT will support it into the future, I fear if it flops that the dual screen setup and support is going to dwindle over time. 2. No pen slot. This is a huge fail IMO - one of the main ways I would want to use this is as a small digital notebook. Having to carry a surface pen separately kind of sucks. 3. No external display. I know they are already pushing it price wise, but even just a small OLED strip would suffice, to let you see a notification without having to unfold the device to see what it is. Missing this makes me think this will be a terrible phone - to know who is calling you now have to take it out of your pocket, open it, then choose what to do. The problem is I think the $400 iPad Mini likely outclasses this device in terms of software and performance.
nabilhat 6y ago
I guess MS is still feeling the sting of their previous foray into the phone market, so they're trying to market it as a Surface? As a phone, it stands out. The giant screen that fits in your pocket is a neat gimmick. It stakes out some potentially influential space on the ground between "phone" and "computer", where market expectations haven't been fully established yet. It costs around as much as other elite phones. "Surface Phone" could have been a great shot into the cutting edge phone market. As a Surface, it's on a different OS and won't run the same software. It gives up peripherals, ports, and screen real estate. Adding a keyboard would make the Duo less practical as a mobile computer than a Surface with the tidy keyboard option. It costs as much as far more powerful Surfaces, but at least it fits in your pocket?

gowld 6y ago

It's an 8" screen (better than 4" or 6") that folds to a compact size where a tablet is too awkward to carry. They seem to think people use the phone has a handset without headphones/speaker, which is a bit strange.

jamesrcole 6y ago

The idea of it appeals to me. Phone size and weight, and thus portability, yet I can quickly and easily switch to viewing and working with the same details on a larger screen when that'd be useful. That can't be as effectively achieved with two separate devices.

Voliokis 6y ago

I currently own a Galaxy S6 Tab. I use it for note-taking and reading books (primarily non-fiction and technical PDFs). Portability is always an issue with tablets. I don't always have my tablet with me, and even when I do, it can be inconvenient to pull it out of my bag. This seems to be 5,6" closed, which sounds like something that might fit into my pants pocket, then I could always have it with me. I've tried using a recent Samsung Note, but found the lack of screen space too much of a constraint that I ended up selling it again fairly quickly. I'm definitely interested, though of course I'm not 100% sure it'll fit my needs until I actually try it for a week. The pricing is also iffy. I'm not sure I'm willing to give such an expensive device a try, especially with Microsoft's poor record when it comes to QA on their Surface line in general.

tw04 6y ago

I'm on the fence just based on the camera. Thats' my 1, 2 & 3 decision maker at this point with young kids. The universal feedback I've seen from peers who are considering the pre-order is: I can stop carrying around an iPad. $1399 replaces an ipad and a phone for them. Time will tell if the usability matches their expectations.

on_and_off 6y ago
I don't even have kids and camera is also the deciding factor for me. For that reason, seeing Marc Levoy calling it quit at Google makes me pessimistic for the next pixels. to be fair the 4 was already a bit underwhelming in that area (flagship level camera but unlike the previous generations it did not really push the enveloppe).
spanhandler 6y ago
Parent here. I won't buy a phone that doesn't have a good camera and take "live photos". The camera is the only reason I've not looked into getting rid of my smart phone entirely. I'd have to find some way to keep WhatsApp working, though, or else convince my entire contact list to migrate, and find a solution for MFA that works with everything from Steam to Github, so either of those might end up being blockers if I actually tried, but I'm not trying because I won't give up a good Internet-connected camera (=auto-backups) that takes live photos. I just gave it a quick DDG, and it looks like that still means my only option is iPhones (or 3rd-party apps on Android, but I am very skeptical the experience & results with those would be anywhere near as good).
- on_and_off 6y ago
  by live photos you mean photos with a live 0.5 second video shot ? Android has been having this for a pretty long while as well, at least on pixel. Off the top of my head, no idea if this applies to the whole ecosystem (might be pixel only, might be google camera only (so that would apply to any phone where you can install this app) or it might even be a pixel feature but tons of OEMs have already duplicated it (that's not exactly a recent feature so I would not be surprised)

Rebelgecko 6y ago

The advantage is that it's a tablet in (roughly) a phone form factor. My Nexus tablet (7 inches) BARELY fits in my pants, and is a bit uncomfortable to carry around. I'm less interested in the productivity side of things, but this looks great for entertainment. I don't like reading ebooks on a phone-sized screen, which wouldn't be an issue. This could also be pretty neat for light gaming with Steam Link/Xbox Gamepass/Moonlight. I'm currently in a situation where I'm able to work remotely for a while, but I'm not going to bring my desktop with me if I spend a week at a cabin in the wilderness. At this price it's not quite worth it for me, but hopefully the Surface Duo does well and dual screen devices get a bit cheaper and add in features I care about like wireless charging

jclardy 6y ago

The idea of it sounds interesting to me. Not necessarily as a "phone" though, but more of an iPad replacement. The problems for me: 1. It runs android. While I hope that MSFT will support it into the future, I fear if it flops that the dual screen setup and support is going to dwindle over time. 2. No pen slot. This is a huge fail IMO - one of the main ways I would want to use this is as a small digital notebook. Having to carry a surface pen separately kind of sucks. 3. No external display. I know they are already pushing it price wise, but even just a small OLED strip would suffice, to let you see a notification without having to unfold the device to see what it is. Missing this makes me think this will be a terrible phone - to know who is calling you now have to take it out of your pocket, open it, then choose what to do. The problem is I think the $400 iPad Mini likely outclasses this device in terms of software and performance.

nabilhat 6y ago

I guess MS is still feeling the sting of their previous foray into the phone market, so they're trying to market it as a Surface? As a phone, it stands out. The giant screen that fits in your pocket is a neat gimmick. It stakes out some potentially influential space on the ground between "phone" and "computer", where market expectations haven't been fully established yet. It costs around as much as other elite phones. "Surface Phone" could have been a great shot into the cutting edge phone market. As a Surface, it's on a different OS and won't run the same software. It gives up peripherals, ports, and screen real estate. Adding a keyboard would make the Duo less practical as a mobile computer than a Surface with the tidy keyboard option. It costs as much as far more powerful Surfaces, but at least it fits in your pocket?