The highlight of today’s Microsoft New York event was the announcement of the Surface Neo – a dual-screen laptop with 360° hinges that allows you to use it in various forms.
While we already had an idea about a dual-screen device from Microsoft, the company went ahead to shock us with yet another dual-screen device but this time around, a “phone” called the Surface Duo.
The Surface Neo and the Surface Duo look alike but the latter is much smaller. However, their internals is different. The biggest difference other than their sizes obviously is that the Neo runs a specially-designed version of Windows 10 called Windows 10X while the Duo runs Android.
Yes, Microsoft is working with Google on the Duo and when it arrives next year (holidays), it will mark Microsoft’s re-entry into the mobile phone business.
Surface Neo
The Surface Neo is still in development but what we saw today shows that Microsoft has gone a long way. The push till next year will allow the company to work with developers that will create programs and apps that will be able to take advantage of the device’s dual-screen.
Microsoft did show us some features and tricks. Like we mentioned above, the Surface Neo runs Windows 10X which is a stripped-down version of Windows 10 but unlike Microsoft’s previous attempts at a lite-version of its operating system, Windows 10X can run legacy programs and not just Windows apps. So all your favorite software should work on Neo but we are not sure all will be able to take advantage of its dual-screen.
Some of the features that got demoed include one called “Spanning” which will allow you to drag an already opened app from one screen to another and have it fill up both screens. Spanning was really smooth even on this prototype. No lags, no jitters.
Surface Neo also has a magnetic keyboard that attaches to the back of the device. In laptop mode, you can decide to use this keyboard or the on-screen one. If you opt for the former, which is smaller than the screen, the remaining visible display at the top becomes what is called a WonderBar. You can call this Microsoft’s version of the MacBook’s TouchBar but significantly bigger. The WonderBar can hold multiple apps including holding a minimized window of Netflix or a YouTube video or displaying gifs/emojis for a chat app. Microsoft says it is working with Netflix and Spotify to make better use of the area.
If you decide to let the gap be at the bottom, the software automatically recognizes the shift of the keyboard and turns the bottom gap into a trackpad. Since the trackpad on a lot of PCs now is made of glass, then you should get used to it pretty easily though there will be no clicking.
There are multiple ways you can use Surface Neo some of which are new such as a reading mode in which you hold it like a book with each screen showing a separate page of the book you are reading. You can also stand it vertically while using a connected keyboard, mimicking using dual monitors. You can also decide to use just one screen with the other folded backward, and with the new Surface Slim Pen, you can take down notes.
The Surface Neo has two 9-inch displays, is powered by Intel’s Lakefield processor, and will arrive in time for next year’s holidays.
Surface Duo
The Surface Duo has two 5.6-inch displays connected by 360° hinges allowing it to transform into an 8.3-inch tablet when opened. It runs Android and if you remember, Google already developed Android to work with dual-screen devices. You can run two apps on each of the screens for true multi-tasking. You can also have one display act as a virtual controller for games or a virtual keyboard for typing.
There is a Snapdragon 855 processor inside but we doubt this will be the SoC powering it when it launches by the end of 2020.
There are no cameras on the back just like the Duo and there is no mention of a camera(s) above the displays. We also do not think the final product will have a camera on the back since this is a dual-display device and the front-facing cameras can double as the rear cameras when folded backward.
We are pretty excited about the Surface Duo and Surface Neo and can’t wait for them to arrive.
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