A new smartphone from Microsoft after a three-year gap would have been a surprise in itself. That the Surface Duo is a phone with two screens you access by opening up the device like a book was a complete stunner.
Microsoft deliberately did not call it a smartphone — insisting it is more than that.
But it receives and makes calls, is based on Google’s Android software designed for smartphones and folds up to the size of a phone to slip in pockets and handbags.
Its two “paper-thin” 5.6in screens unfold to one measuring 8.3in diagonally.
And a folding dual-screen laptop, too?
Alongside the Surface Duo, there is the Surface Neo — a laptop-tablet hybrid with a similar fold-out design.
It has a bigger screen and a keyboard that folds out or can be used separately.
It has two 9in screens that together combine for a 13in workspace — the same size as typical laptops.
The other key difference is that it runs Microsoft Windows software — like most laptops and PCs — rather than Android, which the Duo uses.
The futuristic devices will go head to head with Apple’s iPad and iPhone.
Why two screens?
The firm’s head of devices, Panos Panay, reckons having the two screens will let users do more at once.
One example demonstrated by the firm was being able to watch Netflix while typing a document or an email — something that might not please bosses in the office.
But more likely uses are having two programs open at the same time and dragging content, such as photos, text or files, between them.
The first-ever foldable phone from Samsung grabbed headlines this year — originally for its innovative design but then for breaking easily once the device was launched.
The problem was because the screen itself actually bends.
But Microsoft has taken a very different approach with the Neo and Duo — those two separate screens with a strong and reliable hinge.
Well, no. The Duo and Neo are not out until next year.
Microsoft unveiled the devices so that software developers can get their hands on them and come up with cool uses for the two screens.
