The Surface Duo is made of two glass slabs connected
by a metal hinge. Because the screens are separate, the
gap between them doesn’t give access to the innards of
the device, allowing for a much slimmer hinge than on
the Galaxy Z Fold 2. The screens are also tougher—
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Pen, whereas Samsung’s device has no stylus support.
The Duo comes with an adhesive rubber bumper that
sticks to the edges of the device to protect it. It isn’t
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only cushions the Duo on drops, but it also gives the
edges a grip so they don’t slide around when it’s semi-
folded like a tent.
The two 5.6-inch screens are in a wider, 5-by-4 aspect
ratio than we’re used to from phones nowadays. That
makes the Duo a 5.7-by-3.7-inch (HW) super-wide
hand-buster when folded back, but it’s good for reading
books and looking at web pages, and it means the 5.6-
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room, is bigger than the Z Fold 2’s 6.2-inch exterior
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Microsoft
Surface Duo
PROS Gorgeous
hardware. Best dual-
window experience on
Android. Speedy 4G
performance.
CONS Buggy.
Awkward to hold.
Expensive.
BOTTOM LINE
Microsoft’s folding
Surface Duo phone
tries to redefine
windowing for a
handheld world, but it
stumbles on usability.The Surface Duo
(outside) is
considerably wider
than the Galaxy Z
Fold 2 (inside).