Latest Surface Duo leak reveals price, shows off design & accessories
UPDATE: The Microsoft Surface Duo price has now leaked. The updated story continues below:
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The Surface Duo is compatible with several accessories
The Surface Duo was announced last October and marked Microsoft’s highly anticipated return to the smartphone market. Only this time around, the company is ditching Windows for Android and has fitted its product with two displays.
Microsoft has not yet confirmed which accessories will ship with the Surface Duo, but the leaked press images suggest a specially designed bumper case is going to be included inside the box. That will accompany a power adapter and USB-C to USB-C cable.
As was already announced last year, the Surface Pen stylus is compatible with the Surface Duo. One of the images also points towards compatibility with the Surface Buds wireless earphones, which isn’t very surprising.
Microsoft Surface Duo: features and specifications
The first Microsoft smartphone in years will ship with a tweaked version of Android 10 pre-installed, rather than Windows 10. As previously revealed, that will be coupled with Spotify, Play Store, and YouTube straight out of the box, as well as several Microsoft apps including the Edge browser, LinkedIn, and Microsoft Teams.
Buyers will be able to use those services on two 5.65-inch displays that, when combined, offer a massive 8.3-inches of valuable screen real estate. Keeping things running is the high-end Snapdragon 855 that was used in a wide range of flagships such as the Galaxy Note 10, OnePlus 7 Pro, and Google Pixel 4.
It should be coupled with 4G LTE connectivity as standard. Reports also point towards the presence of 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage, although 128GB and 256GB variants are rumored for those interested.
Microsoft will market the Surface Duo as a productivity powerhouse, but it will also include an 11-megapixel camera above the right display that can be used for taking selfies or scanning documents when folded behind the other display.
To keep things running, Microsoft has reportedly fitted the device with a 3,460mAh battery. Some kind of fast charging support is to be expected, but whether the battery life will be impressive or not remains to be seen.
Microsoft Surface Duo release date, availability, price
The Microsoft Surface Duo was officially scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2020 when announced last year, but an earlier launch could now be on the cards. Microsoft has reportedly scheduled an internal briefing this week and recent reports have mentioned a release on Monday, August 24.
Once available, anybody interested should be able to pick it up unlocked via the Microsoft Store and partnering retailers. As for carriers, AT&T is expected to offer the smartphone-tablet hybrid in the US, although there is no word on international availability.
Unfortunately, Microsoft has not yet announced the Surface Duo's price tag. But according to the aforementioned tipster, the Surface Duo will start at $1,400 in the United States, making it more expensive than the Galaxy Z Flip ($1,380) but cheaper than the Motorola Razr ($1,499).
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