The Microsoft Surface Duo was announced back in October though we had to wait untill this week to learn about its detailed specs and availability. It’s one of the more interesting devices in recent memory and now we have the full press event video with Panos Panay guiding us through the software and pretty much everything there is about the device in a 35-minute product brief video.
The video starts off with a breakdown of the Surface brand and its journey leading up to the Duo with a clear emphasis on addressing users’ needs and thinking outside the box in terms of both software and hardware. The actual product demo starts at around the 8-minute mark where Panay details the interface layout. Navigating the OS and switching through apps seems fluid and responsive and each supported app will be able to work on either of the two screens or in a “spanned mode” across both for added functionality.
The key takeaway is that Duo will adapt to your usage patterns and use-cases instead of the other way around. The device was built with the idea of “keeping you in-flow” by spreading content over both screens letting you do more than one task at a time. Duo will also adapt to the way you’re using it whether its folded, in portrait or landscape mode. Examples from the video were texting while browsing the web, video chatting while watching YouTube and reading a book while taking notes.
Panay also demoed App groups feature which will let you pair any two apps with a single tap and use them side-by-side. Amazon’s Kindle has also been reworked and offers a pretty neat reading experience when spread over both screens in landscape mode. We also get to learn more about the Duo’s bumper cases, compatibility with Microsoft’s Your Phone on PC and much more which you can check out in the video.
Source: Gsmarena