W
e saw a bevy of new laptops and
accessories at Microsoft’s Surface
event a month ago. But a sneak peek
at two foldable devices provoked the biggest
reaction from attendees.The Surface Neo—which features two 9-inch
displays that meet at a hinge in the middle—
delivers on the promise of the Courier, a dual-
screen device Microsoft was rumored to be
working on and later axed almost a decade ago.The Surface Duo, meanwhile, served as
Redmond’s “one more thing.” At Wednesday’s
HYHQW0LFURVRIW&KLHI3URGXFW2̇FHU3DQRV
3DQD\VWDUWHGWRZDONR̆WKHVWDJHDVWKRXJKWKH
SUHVHQWDWLRQZHUH¿QLVKHG%XWWKHQKHWXUQHG
around, and blew the crowd away with a foldable,
two-screened non-phone. Windows fans who still
lament the loss of the excellent Windows Phone
OS rejoiced.,W¶VQRWWKH¿UVWWLPHD\HDUVORQJUXPRUKDV
resulted in an actual product. Google Drive was
the subject of speculation and wishes for years
before it actually launched. And the iPad mini
ZDVUXPRUHGIRUWKUHH\HDUVEHIRUHLW¿QDOO\
launched in 2012.Surface Neo and Duo
Exist Thanks to Microsoft
Fans, and That’s OK
M
i
c
h
a
e
l
M
u
c
h
m
o
r
e
COMMENTARY
Michael Muchmore is
PCMag’s lead analyst
for software and Web
applications. He got
his start in computing
when he wrote a
BASIC program for a
Radio Shack TRS-80.