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Microsoft’s dual-screen Surface Duo began reaching customers last Thursday, the same day the company lifted its embargo and allowed members of the tech press who had received early shipments to post their reviews. That resulted in a flood of coverage worthy of a category-defining device that had been eagerly awaited since its announcement nearly a year earlier.
That storm of coverage was almost overwhelming, spanning tens of thousands of words, hundreds of images, and enough video to fill a YouTube channel.
The reviews covered a lot of ground, but most reached similar conclusions. The hardware is great, the software still needs work, and the performance is adequate, but with components that need an update.
The camera received the most criticism, and rightly so, especially given the over $ 1,400 price tag on this unusual device, and most reviewers concluded that this is an exciting device that isn’t ready for primetime. But everyone agreed that a partnership between Google and Microsoft is something worth paying close attention to.
This isn’t just another phone, and the reviews offer a wide range of fascinating perspectives on why the Surface Duo is an interesting experiment, and how it could improve over time. For those who want to know more, I have summarized the top ten reviews here, so you can make up your mind.
ZDNet
Surface Duo Review: Why I’m Still Confused About Microsoft’s Dual Screen Device
Our own Mary Jo Foley made her trademark “peerless review” of the Surface Duo, emphasizing the everyday experience of someone who primarily uses computing devices for writing. She was pleasantly surprised by the “premium and drool-worthy” Duo hardware and battery life, which “actually lives up to Microsoft’s ‘all day’ promises.”
Unlike most reviewers, she found the Surface Duo camera “Okay … not surprising, but … image quality was acceptable and better than she feared.”
The real negative of this device is the “puzzling” navigation. Bottom line: “Does the Duo make me more productive than a normal mobile phone because it has two separate screens side by side, as Microsoft claims? My answer after two weeks is no. Non-intuitive gestures and constant guessing how applications will open and work slowed me down. ”
The edge
Microsoft Surface Duo review: double problems
In The Verge, Dieter Bohn says the Surface Duo incorporates “all the right ideas” but is “spoiled by faulty software and a faulty camera.” Actually, it’s not just wrong: “Surface Duo’s camera is rubbish … I’d scold this camera on a $ 300 device. Surface Duo costs $ 1400. Microsoft should have called this a webcam. It would have set expectations properly. Plus, it’s a great webcam! ”
Ultimately, Bohn says he can’t recommend the Surface Duo in its current incarnation, at its current price. “But,” he adds, “there are more than a few glimpses of vision and potential in the Surface Duo. Microsoft has the clearest and strongest vision for a new direction in mobile computing that I have seen this year, but choosing one direction.” and getting to the destination are still two different things. ”
Wall street journal
Microsoft Surface Duo review: two screens, too many problems
Joanna Stern, who is one of the most incisive reviewers in the business, points out the potential of the Surface Duo: “When it was working, the Duo felt like the first real innovation in smartphone design I’ve seen in years. to mobile devices it reminded me a lot of the original Surface – a flexible new design that can drive more productivity. “
After a clever recitation of the many problems with the pre-release device, his conclusion doesn’t beat around the bush: “Microsoft’s new $ 1,400 book-shaped phone-tablet isn’t ready for me and it’s not ready for you. … hungry for the real power and productivity promised by this future-feeling device. It just has to work. ”
Don’t miss the attached video, in which Pop-Tarts plays a leading role.
Windows Central
Surface Duo Review: A Dual Screen Phone of Tomorrow … Not quite Ready Today As usual, Daniel Rubino has conducted a comprehensive and well-organized review (with video) aimed directly at readers (and viewers) who are already familiar with (and comfortable in) the Windows landscape.
Rubino criticizes the duo for their performance: “[N]One will accuse the Surface Duo of being fast. Instead, it’s acceptable, and some would accuse me of being too generous there. “He speculates that the Ram’s ‘regular’ 6GB are at least in part to blame, and an odd design decision when it comes to devices. the competition like Samsung’s Note 20. Ultra ships with 12GB.
“Those who know Android, love Microsoft 365 and Office, and continuously consume information would benefit more from the Surface Duo,” he concludes. But even then, “maybe I’ll wait a few months to see how the software improves.”
OneZero
Microsoft’s Surface Duo is a perfect combination of phone and tablet
Owen Williams is the outlier in this batch of reviews, with an unabashedly enthusiastic review that begins with the premise that the Duo is “more of a folding tablet than a smartphone. [for] a very specific segment of people who like Surface devices (like me) and care about getting more work done on the go with just one device. ”
The experience of using two displays, he argues, is “transformative … When I first started using the Surface Duo, I was skeptical about the value the dual display would add: I had never wished my phone had more displays. But the Duo hasn’t just convinced that the extra space is worth it, it has totally changed the way I think about how I use my phone. ”
Not everything is positive, of course. The camera is “good for video calls” but “mediocre … compared to a Pixel or iPhone”. In general, though, this is the one Duo designers will turn to when they need to cheer up.
Android Central
Microsoft Surface Duo review: disaster
The Android Central headline says it all. It’s a comprehensive review by Daniel Bader, who made a good faith effort to embrace Microsoft-centric hardware and software despite being committed to Google services.
Bottom line: “Surface Duo shouldn’t be available for purchase at this time. Their software is still too buggy to ask people to spend $ 1,400 for the privilege of owning Microsoft’s smallest Surface.”
Mashable
Microsoft Surface Duo Review: Is This The New Normal?
Like many of the reviews I looked at, this one from Mashable’s Joseph Volpe underwent a title transformation after its initial publication. The original title was “Is this the future of smartphones?”
And like all question-shaped headlines, it eventually succumbs to Betteridge’s Headline Law: “Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered with the word no.”
It’s a comprehensive review that covers the same ground as the rest of the examples listed here, but the conclusion is considerably more optimistic: “I like the Duo. Yes, despite all those bugs and that glaring lack of a front notification panel. It has the makings of something great … It’s just that $ 1,400 is a lot to ask for that convenience, especially when it’s not full service. ”
Fast company
Microsoft Surface Duo review: two screens, unfinished software
Harry McCracken, who has been in this business long enough to have seen many overrated devices, looks appropriately skeptical at the Surface Duo. He found it “extremely peculiar, outweighed by a combination of glaring bugs and usability issues that Microsoft hasn’t fully resolved.”
After a detailed description of some of those issues, McCracken offers a wait-and-see verdict: “The company emphasizes that the Duo software is a work in progress and says it plans to release monthly software updates. The chances seem decent that it will work. much better after an update or two. But even if I was in love with the idea that this device represents, I would wait and see instead of spending my money right now. ”
(And a historical footnote: one of my all-time favorite McCracken articles is this 2012, long after the fact, look at another device that was ahead of its time: “Newton, Rethink”).
Engadget
Microsoft Surface Duo Review: An Exciting, Expensive, and Erratic Affair
Engadget’s Cherlynn Low gives the Surface Duo what the Ivy Leaguers might call a “Gentleman’s C,” a score of 71 on their 0-100 scale, and a note that the first results from the Google and Microsoft collaboration are promising:
“Surface Duo is decent as a phone, pretty bad as a tablet, and somewhat functional like everything else. That is, when the software works as promised. But bugs and app incompatibility plague this $ 1,399 device, which he will need monthly updates from Microsoft to fix his many problems. ”
CNET
Microsoft Surface Duo review: cool design, janky performance
CNET’s Scott Stein opened his review noting that this device “looked promising … like the perfect little device for this new world of work from home.” And then it all fell apart, in three stages: Stage 1: What a beautiful design. Stage 2: Wow, why is nothing working right? Stage 3: How do you use this exactly? Stage 4: I miss my comfortable old phone.
Like many of his peers, Stein concluded that the Surface Duo needs time: “I love the idea of experimentation, but I don’t like using experiments that don’t feel right. And right now, I don’t see who the Duo is for. But in one year might well be a better solution. ”
Gizmodo
Microsoft Surface Duo Review: Starting a Dual Screen Revolution
Sam Rutherford led his review with a note about the Duo as “one of the most divisive phones in recent memory” and a direct rebuke to the “vitriol, disbelief and outright hatred” the device has sparked. Which gives you an idea of where this one will end up. “[A]At some points, the $ 1,400 Surface Duo feels very experimental. But that’s to be expected when a device is trying to start a revolution. ”
It hits the same high notes (the design embodies “thoughtful elegance”) and low notes (disappointing specs and a “particularly disappointing” camera).
It is not surprising, then, that the conclusion is positive: “[E]Despite its flaws, the Surface Duo is already an incredibly powerful business phone. … This is Microsoft trying to replicate what it did when it created a new category of devices with the original Surface. It’s not perfect, but the revolution is here. ”
