For better or worse, the two-screen foldable Surface Duo, Microsoft’s first Android phone, was one of the most interesting devices launched last year. According to a new report, a successor to the Surface Duo is set to launch later this year.
The promise of the Microsoft Surface Duo was productivity, which allowed you to open two apps side by side or use one app on two screens. With its 360 ° hinge and book-like design, the Surface Duo was similar to a Moleskine notebook.
However, there were serious flaws in the design, as the phone used an outdated Qualcomm chip, which did not offer a good quality camera, and shipping with major software issues. According to a new report from Windows latestReferring to sources familiar with the development, the successor to the Surface Duo will discuss all of these issues.
While no details are shared, the second-generation Microsoft Surface Duo should pack a better processor than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855, which was even outdated with the release. Another positive effect of upgrading the disk set is that the next Surface Duo will support connection to 5G networks, although it is unclear whether mmWave will also be available.
On the original Duo, the foldable camera has only a single camera that can serve for selfies or for general photos, depending on how you rotated the phone’s hinge. However, this single camera did not take particularly good photos. Per post also found by Windows latest, Microsoft may be planning to use machine learning techniques to improve the camera output of the next Surface Duo, similar to the types of techniques used by Google’s Pixel phones.
Another major area of improvement for the successor to Surface Duo is the software. The original Duo broke a lot of new ground for the usability of Android on two screens, but the software was still seen as buggy and inconsistent. For the Surface Duo’s successor, Microsoft apparently places a “special emphasis” on restoring the software experience. It remains to be seen if these software enhancements will also make their way to the original Duo.
At the forefront, Microsoft continues to hire Android engineers, both for the Surface Duo, and just to bring more of Microsoft apps to the platform. Some of Microsoft’s investments on the Android side include developing an ‘Obscured Regions’ API that helps developers know which parts of the screen are not visible, and improving Google’s Flutter SDK on folding.
Microsoft declined to comment on the report.
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