As expected, Microsoft announced an important product in the Surface family. This is a dual-screen foldable Surface Duo. The device will go on sale on September 10, ahead of the iPhone 12 launch. The company claims the Surface Duo is the easiest way to multitask away from home and the office while getting the power of Microsoft 365 and the full ecosystem of Android mobile apps in your pocket.

Surface Duo starts at $ 1399. Thus, the Surface Duo is priced higher than the $ 1,299 Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, albeit $ 600 less than the original Galaxy Fold foldable. The device, in a relatively slim body, will offer an 8.1-inch PixelSense Fusion display – we are talking about two 5.6-inch screens connected by an innovative 360-degree hinge. The device is 4.8 mm thick when unfolded, but when folded, of course, it doubles. It is now perhaps the most elegant folding design on the market. However, owners will have to put up with a tangible distance between the two displays. The company does not disclose the technical characteristics in more detail – we will probably hear them closer to September 10th.

Many see the new apparatus as the spiritual successor to the Microsoft Courier concept, which was closed in 2010. The Surface Duo smartphone was first unveiled last October alongside the Surface Neo, a foldable computer powered by the new Windows 10X operating system.

Surface Duo is committed to maximum protection at all levels with deep integration of enterprise-grade hardware, software, and security. The device was created with an eye to the separation of corporate and user data. Intune app protection policy settings take effect only when corporate data is processed — for example, when you use Outlook to submit a draft presentation for review. If the same user logs into Outlook with a personal account, the Application Protection policy is not enabled.

Another new feature that will also help make the device more versatile and useful in work is the ability to connect to a full Windows 10 environment in the cloud via Windows Virtual Desktop. That is, Microsoft is trying to present the Surface Duo as a kind of pocket laptop replacement.

Duo marks Microsoft’s first foray into the Android market. The company at one time suffered a fiasco with Windows Phone, the takeover of Nokia and the Windows 10 Mobile platform. This forced Microsoft to leave the market and rethink its strategy. Let’s see what happens this time.