Microsoft Surface Duo offers a slick two-screen experience
Two screens: twice as good as one? Microsoft Surface Duo says so

We’re all re-thinking the way we work, where we work and how we work. Microsoft’s new Surface Duo is a premium mobile product with a very specific pitch; people who want to get things done. To that end, the Duo sports twin 5.6” screens and is designed to be used in a myriad number of ways. ‘Things are getting faster and better – that’s the nature of technology,’ says Tim Escolin, Microsoft’s director of industrial design. ‘With the Duo, we wanted to get more productivity from a two-screen device. However, we didn’t want it to feel like two phones combined. Instead, we took inspiration from a physical notebook – like a Moleskine – something you carry around and dip into.’
There’s an old visual joke about the inevitable outcome of the safety razor arms race. First one manufacturer adds a second blade to their cartridge – ‘for a smoother cut’ – then their competitors follow suit by adding a third. No prizes for guessing where this is going; according to Wikipedia, a South Korean company currently manufactures a seven-blade shaving cartridge. At one point, phones looked set to go down a similar path. Twin screen phones were briefly all the rage back in the flip phone era when a closed clamshell device made every call a surprise. However, folding and rolling displays are becoming more practical by the month. Samsung is already into the second iteration of its Galaxy Fold, Huawei’s Mate X2 is also around the corner, as is the FlexPai 2 from US-based Royole. Motorola’s Razr 5G rebooted the classic flip format with a folding screen, and there’s even talk of a folding iPhone in the years to come. Nevertheless, the consumer jury is still deliberating the merits and endurance of a fold point which is integrated with the actual display.
Microsoft's Surface Duo lets you do two things at once without compromise
Microsoft Surface Duo with accessories, Surface Pen and Surface Earbuds
Microsoft hope to sidestep these concerns with the Surface Duo with its independent twin displays. The company’s industrial design team spent a long time exploring the form factor. Scott Schenone, Principal Design Manager in Microsoft’s Surface mobile team, explains how the 360-degree hinge was a crucial part of the design. ‘To start with we just taped two pieces of waterjet cut aluminium together to explore how they felt,’ he says. The device has a welcome solidity that only a mechanical hinge can create. The 360-degree hinge can stop at any angle, allowing the device to be used like a mini laptop, propped up like a tent or folded back on itself to resemble a conventional device. Inside, the components have been strategically located within the device, each ‘leaf’ of which is substantially thinner than a regular phone, to create better balance in the hand. ‘The weight is spread around so you have a good centre of gravity,’ says Escolin.
For the Surface designers, the blend of hardware and software has been the biggest challenge, working hand in glove with Microsoft’s 365 team, to ensure the Duo has distinct user benefits, even though the operating system is based on a stock Android build. For apps like Outlook, for example, you can compose in one pane and search the message list in the other. Or you can have two browsers windows open simultaneously or simply watch a video while you work. Once you get the hang of the UI you can ‘fling’ apps between the panels or swap the dominant screen. The form factor facilitates and even encourages a new approach. ‘It’s easy to make comparisons between the duo and a book. You start on one screen and move to the other, then move back and forth depending on what you’re doing,’ says Escolin. ‘We even went as far as measuring the average muscle strength in people’s thumbs,’ says Scott, just so we could ensure that it wasn’t too much of a stretch to use it when full open.’
Microsoft Surface Duo's 360-degree hinge in detail
INFORMATION
Microsoft Surface Duo, from £1,349 (128GB version).
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
Last chance to see: Sharjah Biennial 15, ‘Thinking Historically in the Present’
Built on the vision of late curator Okwui Enwezor, the Sharjah Biennial 15: ‘Thinking Historically in the Present’ offers a critical reframing of postcolonial narratives through major new commissions
By Amah-Rose Abrams • Published
-
For London Gallery Weekend 2023, the mood is hardcore
With London Gallery Weekend 2023 almost upon us (2 – 4 June), here’s our list of must-see art exhibitions
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
Birkenstock celebrates its most memorable styles with colourful capsule (and matching socks)
Birkenstock marks the 40th, 50th and 60th anniversaries of the Gizeh, Arizona and Madrid sandals, respectively, with limited-edition versions
By Jack Moss • Published
-
Portable and pocketable travel tech: four take-away gadgets with which to stay connected
Work and play remotely with these travel tech devices: TicWatch Pro 5; a stylish new Samsung battery pack; Urbanears’ latest earbuds; and the evergreen Tula microphone
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Audio-Technica adds new hues to its classic Sound Burger record player
The Audio-Technica Sound Burger offers portable analogue audio for all, with a colour menu that nods to the bold electronics of the 1980s
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Leica Q3 full-frame digital camera brings new speed and sophistication
The new Leica Q3 camera boasts features that pitch it at both photographers and filmmakers
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
High-fidelity meets high design in eight new speaker systems
From room-filling sub-woofers to elaborate sculptural objects, speaker systems have never been so diverse. We round up eight key players in the modern audio space
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Sonos sets its sights on new sonic horizons with the Era 100 and Era 300 smart speakers
The new Sonos Era speakers expand the company’s family of high-end streaming devices, as well as introducing Dolby Atmos and decreasing its carbon footprint
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Flip phones make a comeback, from old-school revivals to sleek folding screens
As Mobile World Congress 2023 gives the tech industry its annual shake-up, we’ve rounded up the current crop of flip phones for minimally-minded users
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
Seven new laptops offer power and portability to lust after
A clutch of cutting-edge new laptops was highlighted at CES 2023, bringing new form factors and technologies
By Jonathan Bell • Published
-
CES 2023: nine new devices to desire
Some of the best concepts and launches of CES 2023, from a folding e-scooter to customisable Playstation5 controls and a cute patrolling petbot
By Jonathan Bell • Published