28 PCWorld NOVEMBER 2019NEWS HANDS-ON: MICROSOFT SURFACE DUO
- WHAT KIND
OF AN ANDROID
SKIN DOES IT
HAVE?
The most surprising thing
about the Surface Duo—
other than its very
existence—is the OS it runs:
Android, not Windows
Mobile. But what flavor of
Android will it run? It’s not
coming out until next year,
so presumably it will have
Android 11 on board, but
what kind of launcher will it have? And most
importantly, will updates arrive on time?
With the other Surface devices, Microsoft
controls the whole stack. Android support
adds an extra layer that has been known to
delay things. - WHAT WILL
GAMING LOOK
LIKE?
Microsoft is promising support
for the whole Play Store app
library, but we didn’t see much
about games. With a clamshell
design and two screens, the
Surface Duo could be the device
that truly takes Android gaming
to the next level, with split-screen
action, unique controls, and
unique gameplay.
10. HOW MUCH DOES
IT COST?
Of course, this is what we really need to know.
The Galaxy Fold starts at $1,980 and the Surface
Pro X clocks in at $999. So maybe in the
middle? Time will tell, but the price could be the
thing that makes or breaks the Surface Duo.
It’ll be a great productivity device, but what about games?Will the Duo be like the Pixel or the Galaxy when it comes to updates?