Microsoft Dual-Display Smartphone Surface Duo Coming This Year, Report Says

A report claims that Microsoft is still on track to release its highly anticipated Surface Duo device this year.

Less than a week after Microsoft Chief Product Officer Panos Panay said the company will be focusing on developing its new Windows 10X platform to work on single-display devices instead of dual-display devices such as the Surface Neo, a report from Android Authority claims that the company's other dual-display device, the Surface Duo, is still targeted for release this year.

The site claimed that according to a person “with knowledge of Microsoft's plans,” the company's timeframe with relation to the Surface Duo's release date remains the same – it will still be launched sometime in 2020. The source didn't reveal when that will be, only hinting that the official release date “will be revealed at a later date.”

Android Authority added that the same source confirmed what Microsoft's Panay was hinting at in his blog entry: that the Surface Neo is put on hold, and that the company will “look for the right moment” to release it in the future.

What to expect

Now that there's some information about the Surface Duo's imminent release, what can fans expect from it? Here's a quick look:

• Wide dual-display

First, as seen during the reveal, the Surface Duo will feature two displays that measure 5.6 inches apiece, or 8.3 inches when measured together. While a gap exists in the middle of the two screens, some apps can be expanded to spread across both of them.

• Innards

The device ran on a Snapdragon 855 during the reveal. It's unclear if Microsoft replaced this with a different SoC. Memory and storage remain unknown at the moment.

• Camera

The company hasn't divulged any camera spec, let alone any official spec that the device will feature. Panay said earlier that he doesn't want to reveal too much too early because he might risk exposing the device's design elements to competitors. That said, the company did promise that it will feature a “world-class camera,” Phone Arena noted.

• Platform

The Surface Duo ran Android 9 when it was first shown. It might run on Android 10 or Android 11 when released.