Rumor has it that the Microsoft Surface Duo is coming this summer. When the phone was first announced last October, Microsoft said the dual-screen Android smartphone would be available in time for the 2020 holiday season. But there’s mounting evidence that Surface Duo is ahead of schedule, unlike some other Microsoft products.

The company hasn’t made an official announcement yet. But the Surface Duo received FCC and Bluetooth SIG certification recently. And over the past month, bunch of Microsoft executives have shared photos of Surface Duo phones in real-world settings on social media.

Microsoft Surface Duo (Frank X Shaw)
Frank X Shaw

Microsoft VP Shilpa Ranganathan posted a picture of the phone in the kitchen, where she’s using it to display recipes.

Frank Shaw, who leads the company’s communications department, has also been using the Surface Duo in the kitchen.

He also recently took the phone out for a hike.

Microsoft Chief Product Officer Panos Panay has shared a few different pictures, including one showing the Surface Duo as a book-like device for reading, and another showing the phone in a clear case.

Microsoft VP Brad Anderson also used a Surface Duo recently to control a green screen in a video posted to LinkedIn.

Anderson has also joined the chorus of Microsoft executives using the Surface Duo in the kitchen, in this case to view two recipes at the same time.

Joe Belfiore, vice president of Microsoft’s Essential Products Group took his Surface Duo on a recent trip to Disney World.


The Surface Duo is expected to feature twin 5.6 inch, 1800 x 1350 pixel AMOLED displays, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, 6GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, an 11MP camera, and a 3,460 mAh battery.

Aside from the design which allows you to use the phone in single-screen or dual-screen modes, the most interesting thing about the Surface Duo is that it will be the first phone from Microsoft since the company abandoned its own Windows Phone operating system. Rather than try to compete with Android and iOS, Microsoft has instead started to use them for its mobile strategy by releasing apps and services that run on those platforms.

So Microsoft’s newest phone will ship with a non-Microsoft operating system, but it will be highly customized with a Microsoft-designed home screen and app launcher, support for the company’s apps which are designed to span both displays, and support for using the two screens for multitasking. I suspect Office, Edge, and other Microsoft apps will also come pre-installed.

Pricing hasn’t been announced yet.

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13 replies on “A collection of photos of the Surface Duo in the wild (courtesy of Microsoft employees)”

  1. I’d like this form factor for a UMPC. I’d settle for the virtual keyboard and cumbersome stylus if they couldn’t get a thumb mouse pointer in there.

    For a phone, this form factor isn’t something I’d get for something I’d carry with me all the time. At least with the current state of technology this seems more robust than those folding screen phones.

  2. How is that battery going to keep 2 screens going all day? That seems really small.

    1. Oh and you will almost definitely need a smartwatch to go along with this…otherwise you will need to open it constantly. Maybe v2.0 will have a front display?

      If it undercuts the Galaxy fold 2 in price it may be a buy but if they don’t then why would you get this instead? Microsoft apps are available on Android app store already.

  3. Can you answer and make phone calls with it closed? It seems inconvenient if you have to open it every time and talk into something that big.

  4. I wonder if we can connect the recent updates to RDP for Android and the Surface Duo…… use your PC remotely on your Duo screens as if it were running Windows 10 natively…… I for one am hopeful 😊

  6. Seems nice. Although I’m part of the small phone crowd. Still using my 2016 iPhone SE.

    I’d get this form factor for a UMPC (desktop Windows 10) though. Too bad I doubt the hardware is capable of running Windows 10 on ARM adequately. It’d need some tiny thumbpad for a mouse for me too (pen and finger aren’t enough). I’ve used the built-in virtual SW touchpad but it takes up screen space.

    1. Windows 10 on ARM runs on custom Microsoft silicon based on ARM. I doubt this would contain the SoC required to run Windows 10.

      1. Not exclusively Robert, Windows 10 on ARM has been run on Snapdragon 835 and 850s but those early products didn’t have the oomph to provide a good user experience.

  7. This is absolutely going to be my next phone. Been waiting for it all year. I already use Microsoft’s launcher, browser, one-drive. I’m ready

    1. I agree. I was waiting on the S20 Note Ultra, but I think I will wait for this. I just hope it is coming to T Mobile. So far hearing AT&T at the beginning.

  8. More confirmation that this is too big for a phone for me even when it’s folded. This size and form factor would be nice for a UMPC that I take with me most times but not all the time.

    Although, I’m sure there’s a sizeable market for people who want large phones given the current phone selections.

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