TheLostSwede
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There's no doubt that Microsoft's first attempt on an Android phablet was a disaster, not only as a device, but apparently also so in terms of the sales volume, since it was originally priced at an insane US$1,399.99. Even though it's retailing for a more sensible US$699.99 now, it doesn't seem to have made it much more popular. That didn't stop Microsoft from launching the Surface Duo 2 today and it looks like the company has learnt from some of its mistakes with the original device, but the question is if it'll be enough.
Feature wise, Microsoft has updated the displays and we're now looking at two slightly larger and higher resolution 5.8-inch displays with 1344x1892 resolution, that combine into an 8.3-inch surface with a 2688x1892 resolution, when combined. The displays are still using AMOLED technology, but now they're using a variable refresh rate of up to 90 Hz. The CPU has been given a bump to, from a Snapdragon 855 to a Snapdragon 888, while Microsoft also threw in an additional 2 GB of RAM for a total of 8 GB of the LPDDR5 flavour. The Surface Duo 2 still starts out with 128 GB of storage, but Microsoft added a 512 GB SKU in addition to the 256 GB SKU.
Microsoft has spent a lot of time on improving the camera, or rather cameras on the Surface Duo 2, as it now sports no less than three cameras. We're looking at a 12 Megapixel wide-angle camera, a 12 Megapixel 2x "telephoto" camera and a 16 Megapixel ultra-wide camera. The wide-angle and telephoto cameras have optical image stabilization and phase detection auto focus. HDR video and 4K60p recording is supported, as well as slow motion video at 120 or 240fps, although only at 1080p resolution. There's also a front-facing 12 Megapixel camera, but it's limited to 1080p30 video.
Other features include 5G connectivity and the US will get a mmWave version for Verizon, 802.11ax/Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1 (with aptX Classic, HD and TWS support) and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) port that supports fast charging from the supplied 23 W power adapter. DP Alt mode over the USB-C port is also part of the package and apparently 4K output is possible. Unsurprisingly the weight has increased slightly and you're now looking at 284 grams, which is still quite light, all things considered. The 4,449 mAh battery is said to be good for 28 hours of talk time or 15.5 hours of video playback. Microsoft is shipping the Surface Duo 2 with Android 11 with a custom skin, as well as a wealth of Microsoft applications ranging from Microsoft Teams to Outlook, Office and Xbox Game Pass.
Finally we have the issue that made the original Surface Duo so unattractive, the price. Unfortunately it looks like Microsoft hasn't learnt from the lesson of its first attempt, as the Surface Duo 2 starts at US$1,499.99 for the 128 GB variant, with the 256 GB and 512 GB variants coming in at US$1,599.99 and US$1,799.99 respectively. It's a lot of money for a device that isn't quite a phone, nor a tablet and that most people don't really need in the first place. It's also too costly for something that people would use to stream their Xbox games to, so even that audience isn't a likely customer. Maybe we'll see a big price drop in a few months again, as we did with the original Surface Duo.
View at TechPowerUp Main Site
Feature wise, Microsoft has updated the displays and we're now looking at two slightly larger and higher resolution 5.8-inch displays with 1344x1892 resolution, that combine into an 8.3-inch surface with a 2688x1892 resolution, when combined. The displays are still using AMOLED technology, but now they're using a variable refresh rate of up to 90 Hz. The CPU has been given a bump to, from a Snapdragon 855 to a Snapdragon 888, while Microsoft also threw in an additional 2 GB of RAM for a total of 8 GB of the LPDDR5 flavour. The Surface Duo 2 still starts out with 128 GB of storage, but Microsoft added a 512 GB SKU in addition to the 256 GB SKU.
Microsoft has spent a lot of time on improving the camera, or rather cameras on the Surface Duo 2, as it now sports no less than three cameras. We're looking at a 12 Megapixel wide-angle camera, a 12 Megapixel 2x "telephoto" camera and a 16 Megapixel ultra-wide camera. The wide-angle and telephoto cameras have optical image stabilization and phase detection auto focus. HDR video and 4K60p recording is supported, as well as slow motion video at 120 or 240fps, although only at 1080p resolution. There's also a front-facing 12 Megapixel camera, but it's limited to 1080p30 video.
Other features include 5G connectivity and the US will get a mmWave version for Verizon, 802.11ax/Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1 (with aptX Classic, HD and TWS support) and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) port that supports fast charging from the supplied 23 W power adapter. DP Alt mode over the USB-C port is also part of the package and apparently 4K output is possible. Unsurprisingly the weight has increased slightly and you're now looking at 284 grams, which is still quite light, all things considered. The 4,449 mAh battery is said to be good for 28 hours of talk time or 15.5 hours of video playback. Microsoft is shipping the Surface Duo 2 with Android 11 with a custom skin, as well as a wealth of Microsoft applications ranging from Microsoft Teams to Outlook, Office and Xbox Game Pass.
Finally we have the issue that made the original Surface Duo so unattractive, the price. Unfortunately it looks like Microsoft hasn't learnt from the lesson of its first attempt, as the Surface Duo 2 starts at US$1,499.99 for the 128 GB variant, with the 256 GB and 512 GB variants coming in at US$1,599.99 and US$1,799.99 respectively. It's a lot of money for a device that isn't quite a phone, nor a tablet and that most people don't really need in the first place. It's also too costly for something that people would use to stream their Xbox games to, so even that audience isn't a likely customer. Maybe we'll see a big price drop in a few months again, as we did with the original Surface Duo.
View at TechPowerUp Main Site