Microsoft surprised everyone with last year’s announcement of a new foldable device, the Surface Duo. Unfortunately when announced there was no exact availability date except for late 2020. IT seems strange that a company would announce a new product a full 12 months before it’s release to the public but we assume Microsoft wanted to build the hype for it.
We have closely monitored any news on the new foldable but any information or leaks have been few and far between. Of course COVID-19 has messed up every companies’ plans for device release in 2020 so far and although Microsoft are also no doubt also affected it seems they are preparing for a release, and soon.
I'm told Microsoft wants to launch Surface Duo before the Galaxy Fold 2 is announced. So, before August 5th? We're getting close. Assuming plans don't change, Surface Duo should start shipping in less than 2 months.
— Zac Bowden (@zacbowden) June 12, 2020
According to Windows Central writer Zac Bowden Microsoft do not want to get lost amongst the Samsung Galaxy Fold 2 hype and are thus looking to get in before Samsung release that to the world. The Galaxy Fold 2 is expected to arrive on August 5 which would place the Surface Duo as arriving at the end of July — at the latest.
As per usual take any rumour not directly from the company themselves with a large helping of salt but for Microsoft to bring the date forward so much is a surprise. While the device has — barely — 2019 specs you would think the dual display integration with all of the Microsoft features would not be easy to implement but the Android-powered device has a chance to become the perfect productivity device.
Expect the device to arrive at a premium price as all Microsoft hardware does but it will most likely integrate seamlessly with Windows 10 — especially for the default Microsoft Android apps. Hopefully they are also going to open up their APIs to allow developers to allow their apps to make the most of the new foldable device.
Hopefully Microsoft can pull off an Android device that runs smoothly and is useful for people to use and increase their productivity on an everyday device. Do you think they can do it? How much would you pay for this device?
