Surface Neo and Duo Exist Thanks to Microsoft Fans, and That’s OK
With the Surface Neo and Duo, Microsoft is finally giving its top fans what they’ve been asking for: a dual-screen tablet and a Surface phone.
At Microsoft’s Surface event last week, we saw a bevy of new laptops and accessories—but a sneak peek at two foldable devices provoked the biggest reaction.
The Surface Neo, which features two 9-inch displays that meet at a hinge in the middle, delivers on the promise of the Courier, a dual-screen device Microsoft was rumored to be working on and later axed almost a decade ago.
The Surface Duo, meanwhile, served as Redmond’s “one more thing.” At Wednesday’s event, Microsoft Chief Product Officer Panos Panay started to walk off the stage as though the presentation were finished. But then he turned around and blew the crowd away with a foldable, two-screened non-phone. Windows fans who still lament the loss of the excellent Windows Phone OS rejoiced.
It’s not the first time a years-long rumor resulted in an actual product. Google Drive was the subject of speculation and wishes for years before it actually launched. A similar case could be made for the iPad mini, which was rumored for three years before it finally launched in 2012.
There’s been talk of a Surface Phone for years, but one of the big surprises at the October event is not the resurrection of Windows Phone, but that the Duo runs Android. Panay even mentioned that Microsoft is partnering with its archrival Google to deliver the dual-screen device. Most shocking of all, the presentation’s first look at the upcoming Surface Duo showed a home screen sporting a Google search bar. Whither Bing?!
I suppose it shouldn’t be entirely shocking that Microsoft is coming out with an Android phone, given how many integrations with Windows the company has recently implemented. The trend is most evident in the Your Phone app, which lets Android users instantly see photos and SMS text conversations on a connected device-similar to Apple’s Continuity feature between iPhones and Macs.
The partnership with Google may also have benefitted from Microsoft’s decision to use the search giant’s Chromium code to power the Edge web browser. And indeed, some Microsoft watchers predicted that Microsoft would—or should—come out with an Android phone.
A lot of commentators are comparing the Surface Duo to the Samsung Galaxy Fold, most stating that it may be better to have two side-by-side screens than one foldable one. And Panay noted, “It’s amazing when you put two screens side by side to see how the brain lights up.” He also stated that Microsoft’s brain research shows that people are more productive when they have a second screen at their disposal.
I can see the case for having a web search on one screen while you’re writing an email on the other. That holds for both the Neo and the Duo. How many times have you been on a call or FaceTime chat and had to switch apps to look something up while talking, or look up a calendar entry while reading an email?
Long-rumored products that finally make an appearance (and I contend that they appear, at least partly, because of fan demand) have had great success, such as Google Drive. The iPad mini has been a marginal success (based on Apple not upgrading it between 2015 and 2019). Only next year’s holiday shopping season will tell which fate awaits Microsoft’s bold foray into two-screened devices that are not quite tablets and not quite smartphones.
But in the end, what’s wrong with a tech company giving its top fans what they’ve been clamoring for?
Originally published at https://www.pcmag.com on October 9, 2019.
