Surface Duo will include time-saving multitasking
Laptop mode on Surface Duo might look like this
The Duo could end up disappointing those who expect a device with a long-lasting battery. While there was a time when it was rumored that the 3460 mAh battery capacity could exceed the day, you should remember that this battery supports the power needs of two displays. But the refresh rate doesn’t seem to be faster than the standard 60Hz (meaning the screen refreshes 60 times per second) and there is no 5G connectivity to power. We’ll have to see if the battery holds up once the phone is released.
If the above patent applications prove to be predictive, the Duo’s hinge will be able to determine the position of the displays relative to each other and will change the UI appropriately. For example, with the phone in “store mode” (like an inverted V), the hinge would know that the displays are in that position and would change the user interface to support an alarm clock for a nightstand. In “portable mode”, the device is kept horizontal with the two screens at a 90 degree angle like a laptop. The lower screen would show a virtual QWERTY keyboard.
Microsoft decided to use Android for its first phone in years instead of going back to Windows Phone. Although the latter had its admirers and was very fluid, the so-called “application gap” prevented the operating system from entering Android and iOS market shares. This was somehow a vicious circle; developers would not create versions of Windows Phone applications because no one was buying the phones. And no one was buying the phones because the apps they use were not available for the platform. Like BlackBerry before, Microsoft realized that all of the app gap-related headaches disappeared when they abandoned their own operating systems and replaced them with Android.
