Microsoft pulled this curtain back on the price and availability of the Surface Duo: 128GB for $ 1400 and 256GB for $ 1,500, both shipping on September 10th. Too bad the dual-screen Android device is dead on arrival.
The price tag is hard to swallow, especially during a pandemic. After all, 2020 sees a resurgence in good, cheap phones. Most notably, Apple launched a $ 399 iPhone SE, to which Google responded with a $ 349 Pixel 4a. But if you’re interested in a foldable phone, a big one and a half will not be the deal breaker, especially considering this year’s launch prices Galaxy Z Flip ($ 1,380), Galazy Z Flip 5G ($ 1,450), Motorola Razr ($ 1,500), and Huawei Mate Xs (€ 2,499). The real problem is what you get, or rather do not get, for the price.
Doubtful hardware
We knew in October that the Surface Duo launched with Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 from last year instead of the Snapdragon 855+ like this year Snapdragon 865 or Snapdragon 865+. Doesn’t matter that using old chips consistently launches dubbed flagship – Microsoft seems happy to use old chips in what is clearly meant to be a flagship device:
That, with Surface Duo, we have not focused our energy on the places where the sector is already advancing – Processors and networks will be faster, and cameras will be better with or without us.
Maybe that’s OK, considering the Duo seems to be for business leaders. After all, every time Microsoft places the device, it’s one of the performers who takes the picture. You could make the case that such a target market does not provide the latest specs – performers want a device that improves their productivity, regardless of specs.
And yet, this is ultimately meant to replace your phone. It should be better than anything that is currently in your pocket. It’s hard to imagine someone carrying a Duo and a second smartphone (although I wouldn’t put it past execs who already have two phones).
It’s not just processing speed and battery life that Microsoft is skipping by using old hardware. The Duo ships with a single camera (even Google indicated that one smartphone camera was not enough). The Duo does not have 5G, NFC, or Wi-Fi 6. What is the point of guaranteeing Android updates for three years on outdated hardware?
Question value statement
Specification misteps separately, Microsoft has not articulated what problem the Duo is trying to solve. If you’ll spend at least $ 1,400 on a phone, especially during a pandemic review, it’s better to offer something truly unique. Microsoft’s pitch comes down to what every other foldable device manufacturer claims – that their latest device is not just another phone:
Today, as we look forward to the next wave of mobile productivity and creativity, we see the same opportunity to innovate with Surface Duo – not to reinvent the phone, but to inspire people to think about how they want to use the device in their pocket.
And maybe the lack of a clear value proposition is OK when trying to create a new category of devices. The 35-minute press demo certainly feels like Microsoft wants users to figure out that part. But that itself is part of another problem.
This is the year we saw Microsoft also permanently close all its physical retail stores. Furthermore, many carrier and electronics stores are still closed, especially in the US where the Duo is sold exclusively. It’s quite difficult to define a new device for categories to try if you can not keep it in your hands. It’s even harder to do if you can not even buy it in your country. Even Microsoft’s Microsoft phones from a decade ago were considered to launch outside the US before Microsoft pulled the plug.
What is the use of a category defining product that you can not even try or buy?
Doubtful timing
None of these misteps are on their own enough to damn a device. Numerous category-defining devices launched with an eye-catching price tag or unpredictable specs as in one country. But all together during a recession? It does not look good.
I’m excited about dual-screen devices, maybe even more so than single-screen devices. But I think the jury is still out in the whole foldables category. Last year, after discovering the Surface Duo and Surface Neo (now delayed until 2021), I wrote:
None of this will necessarily unpack. Dual-screen devices can flop. Two screens mean more potential productivity, efficiency, and maybe even some fun games, for sure. But two screens also raise questions about thickness, weight, performance, price and battery life. After all, Microsoft had previously been on the dual-screen adventure with its Courier project almost a decade ago – killing it because the device was not sniffing.
It’s great that Microsoft feels comfortable enough this time around to launch a dual-screen device. And yet, when Microsoft released the Neo, instead of pushing the Duo out early (it was originally time for a holiday release), maybe the Duo should have delayed it too If there is one year where a proposal can be forgiven, it’s 2020.
Microsoft could have shoved the Duo back to include the latest chips, multiple cameras, 5G, and Wi-Fi 6, and to ensure some need for retail presence. That way, the Duo would not be set for failure. And the price tag would even have been easier to swallow.
Microsoft is not doing itself any favors by cutting Duo on the launch pad, which I’m afraid its successors might hurt as well. The good news is that the company is not turning its Surface line into a billion-dollar company by throwing in the towel to one generation. I’m waiting for the unforgettably poorly named Surface Duo 2.
ProBeat is a column in which Emil rants about what crosses him that week.
