Since late last year, Microsoft had announced it’s surface Duo phone, but for some time had said and done nothing about the device that we could see. Recently some specs of the device were leaked.

So far, we know that Surface Duo has two 5.6-inch displays at a resolution of 1800×1350 each. We also know those displays support Surface Pen, and that the device itself is 4.8mm thin. Microsoft is yet to detail the SoC, storage and RAM options, or talk about things such as the camera sensor.

The Surface Duo is in take-home status at Microsoft internally, meaning employees from outside the Surface hardware division can request to test and use Surface Duo in the real world. This normally happens when a device is about to be launched. That means they we’re actually planning to launch it this year.

  The hardware specifications for Surface Duo are pretty much done and have been for quite some time. Although Microsoft could have added some change’s, I don’t think it’s going to affect the look of the device. Because of this, the specs that Microsoft employees are testing with Surface Duo today are the ones we can expect to see inside Surface Duo when it launches to the public later this year. Surface Duo specs Source: Microsoft According to my sources, Surface Duo will ship this year with a:

• Memory: 6Gb Ram and 64GB or 256GB storage options
• Single 11MP camera sensor ( would be used for front and rear-facing photos and videos
• 3a60mAh battery
• 4G LTE (max)
• Operating system: Android 10
• Display: 2 x 5.6 inch, 4:3 aspect ratio, 1800 x 1350 (401 ppi) resolution
• AMOLED processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
• f/2.0 1.12um security Fingerprint
• Port: 1x USB-C nanoSIM slot
• Pen: Surface pen

Microsoft is aiming to finalize the apps that will be preinstalled on Surface Duo by early June, and create a factory OS image that will ship on the hardware out of the box. All of Microsoft’s first-party apps that are preinstalled on Surface Duo will support spanning across both displays and have drag and drop capabilities between two different apps where applicable. Not all third-party apps on Android will support this functionality, as it will be up to developers to implement those capabilities. But why is Microsoft not using the latest Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm for the Surface Duo, and the reason seems to be rooted in the fact that Qualcomm requires all smartphone makers to include a separate 5G chip with the Snapdragon 865. Surface Duo’s internal design was finalized way before that requirement was known about, and therefore doesn’t have room for the additional 5G chip that’s required when using the Snapdragon 865. If Microsoft were to use the Snapdragon 865 inside the Surface Duo, it would have to significantly redesign the hardware inside and out to accommodate the required chip, throwing out most of the work that Microsoft has put into Surface Duo V1. Critics have touted the Snapdragon 865 as a step backwards in smartphone design for this very reason, as it also uses more battery and increases the price of smartphones. This should change when Qualcomm builds a 5G modem into the System on a Chip (SoC.) Either way, the use of last year’s flagship processor shouldn’t degrade the experience in any way. The Snapdragon 855 is still an excellent chip with great performance and efficiency. If anything, the use of an older component might allow Surface Duo to come in at a slightly lower price.

While we now know most of Surface Duo’s internal specifications, we still don’t know everything. We don’t know if Surface Duo is IPXX rated, we don’t know anything about its audio setup, or overall device dimensions. And although we know the on-paper specs for the camera, we still don’t really know how well it performs in the real world. I’m told not to expect iPhone or Pixel level quality, but it should be good enough for most people. We also don’t know its price, which is going to be the deciding factor for many people. It’s likely Surface Duo will be priced comfortably inside the “premium smartphone” segment of the market, but just how premium is something we’ll have to wait and see about. It’s important to remember that Surface Duo isn’t about raw specs; it’s about form factor. Most of the innovation coming out of Surface Duo is in the 360-degree hinge and dual-display setup, which I’m told is unlike any other dual-screen phone we’ve seen before. That said, Microsoft needs to launch this device as soon as possible, because its use of last year’s processor, paired with the large bezels, and lack of NFC or wireless charging, means this device will age faster than others launching in the second half of this year. Hopefully Microsoft will detail its plans for Surface Duo soon.

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