PC Magazine - USA (2020-10)

(Antfer) #1

The Surface Duo doesn’t have 5G, but honestly, that doesn’t really matter at the
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Galaxy S20+ on T-Mobile and Verizon, and it performed very well on both
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average of 244Mbps down. Both phones were on 4G all the time, except for one
202Mbps 5G result on the S20+ that didn’t change the averages.


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That’s especially impressive when you consider that six out of my 13 tests on the
S20+ were on T-Mobile’s 5G network, which tends to be faster than its 4G
network. The Duo’s 4G performance is simply good enough that 5G doesn’t
matter right now.


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little-used CBRS band 48, but it (shockingly) lacks T-Mobile’s band 71, which
the carrier relies on for coverage in rural areas.


In terms of Wi-Fi, the device is also a year behind the curve. It has Wi-Fi
802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5), which is the most common current form of Wi-Fi but is
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as well as a physical SIM, so you can attach a second subscription from an
eSIM-compatible carrier.


Using the Duo as a phone is a little odd, because it’s so wide. It helps to use
USB-C or Bluetooth headphones, as there’s no 3.5mm jack, but you can
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clear. It would really rather be sitting on your table in L-shaped mode as a
speakerphone or video-chat device, though.

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