The dual-screen Microsoft Surface Duo began arriving in customer hands last Thursday, the same day the company lifted the embargo and allowed pre-shipped tech press to post reviews. This has resulted in a flood of information worthy of a category-defining device that has been eagerly awaited since its announcement almost a year earlier.

This blizzard of lighting was almost overwhelming, spanning tens of thousands of words, hundreds of images, and enough videos to fill a YouTube channel.

The reviews covered many questions, but most of them came to similar conclusions. The hardware is great, the software is still in need of work, and the performance is adequate, but comes at the expense of components that need updating.

The camera drew the most criticism, and rightly so, especially with this unusual device priced at over $ 1,400, and most reviewers have concluded that this is a gripping device that isn’t quite ready for primetime yet. But they all agreed that the partnership between Google and Microsoft is something worth paying close attention to.

It’s not just another phone, and the reviews offer a wide array of fascinating insights into why the Surface Duo is an interesting experiment and how it could improve over time. For those looking to find out more, I’ve compiled ten of the best reviews here for you to form your own opinion.

ZDNet

Surface Duo review: why I’m still confused by Microsoft’s dual-screen device

Our very own Mary Jo Foley has run her trademark “Non-Expert Surface Duo Review” highlighting the day-to-day experience of a person who primarily uses computer writing devices. She was pleasantly surprised by the Duo’s “premium and drool-worthy” hardware and battery life, which “actually live up to Microsoft’s all-day promises.”

Unlike most other reviewers, she found the Surface Duo’s camera “OK … not surprising, but … the image quality was acceptable and better than I expected.”

The real disadvantage of this device is the “incomprehensible” navigation. Bottom line: “Does the Duo make it more productive than a regular mobile phone because it has two separate screens side-by-side, as Microsoft claims? My answer in two weeks is no. Unintuitive gestures and constant guesswork about how the application will open and work slowed me down. ”

Facets

Microsoft Surface Duo review: double trouble

Dieter Bon of The Verge says the Surface Duo includes “all the right ideas” but “messed up with buggy software and a bad camera.” Not just bad, actually: “The Surface Duo camera is rubbish.… I would scold this camera on a $ 300 device. Surface Duo costs $ 1,400. Microsoft should just call it a webcam. It would live up to expectations. Plus, it’s a great webcam! ”

Ultimately, Bon says he cannot recommend the Surface Duo in its current incarnation at its current price. “But,” he adds, “the Surface Duo has more than a few glimpses of vision and potential. Microsoft has the clearest and strongest vision for a new direction in mobile computing I’ve seen this year, but it’s taking a direction. and getting to your destination are two different things. ”

Wall street journal

Microsoft Surface Duo review: two screens, too many problems

Joanna Stern, who is one of the most discerning reviewers in the industry, notes the potential of the Surface Duo: “When it worked, the Duo seemed like the first true innovation in smartphone design I’ve seen in years. access to mobile cellular devices really reminded me of the original Surface: a new flexible design that can improve productivity. “

After cleverly enumerating many of the issues with the pre-launch of the device, her conclusion is not without words: “Microsoft’s new $ 1,400 tablet phone that looks like a book is not ready for me and not ready for you … I crave the real power and performance promised by this gadget of the future. It just has to really work. ”

Don’t miss the accompanying video starring Pop-Tarts.

Windows Central

Surface Duo review: tomorrow’s dual-screen phone … not ready today yet

As usual, Daniel Rubino made a thorough, well-organized review (with video) aimed directly at readers (and viewers) who are already familiar with the Windows landscape (and feel comfortable).

Rubino salutes the duo for the performance: “[N]o The Surface Duo can be blamed for performance. On the contrary, it is acceptable, and some may accuse me of being too generous. ” He suggests that the “so-so” 6GB of RAM is at least partly to blame, and the odd design decision for rival devices like the Samsung Note 20 Ultra comes with 12GB.

“Those who know Android, love Microsoft 365 and Office, and are constantly consuming information will benefit the most from Surface Duo,” he concludes. But even then, “Maybe wait a few months to see how the software improves.”

OneZero

Microsoft’s Surface Duo is the perfect combination of phone and tablet

Owen Williams is the mansion in this series of reviews, with an overtly enthusiastic review that begins with the premise that the Duo is “more of a foldable tablet than a smartphone. [for] a very specific group of people who love Surface devices (like me) and who care about getting more work done on the go with one device. ”

He claims that using two screens “transforms … When I first started using Surface Duo, I was skeptical about how useful a dual screen was: I never wanted more screens on my phone. … But Duo not only convinced me that the extra space was worth it, it completely changed the way I think about how I use my phone. ”

Of course, not all is well. The camera is “good for video calls,” but “mediocre … compared to the Pixel or iPhone.” Overall, though, this is one that Duo designers will turn to when they need cheer.

Android Central

Microsoft Surface Duo review: a mess

The Android Central header speaks for itself. This is an in-depth review from Daniel Bader, who made a good faith effort to cover Microsoft-focused hardware and software despite using Google’s services fully.

Conclusion: “Surface Duo shouldn’t be available for purchase right now. Its software still contains too many bugs to ask people to spend $ 1,400 for the privilege of owning Microsoft’s smallest Surface. ”

Mashable

Microsoft Surface Duo review: is this the new norm?
Like many other reviews I’ve looked at, this one from Joseph Wolpe Mashable has undergone a name change since being first posted. The original title was “Is this the future of smartphones?”

And like all question-shaped headings, both headings ultimately lend themselves Betteridge’s Law of Headings: “Any heading ending with a question mark can be answered with the word” no “.

This is a thorough review, covering the same questions as the rest of the examples listed here, but the conclusion is much more optimistic: “I love Duo. Yes, despite all these bugs and the blatant lack of a front panel notification, it has the makings of something great … Just $ 1,400 is too much to ask for convenience, especially when it’s not a full service. ”

Fast Company

Microsoft Surface Duo review: two screens, unfinished software

Harry McCracken, who has been in the business long enough to see a lot of bloated devices, is quite skeptical of the Surface Duo. He found it “highly quirky, overcome by a combination of glaring bugs and usability issues that Microsoft didn’t quite solve.”

After listing some of these issues in detail, McCracken issues a wait-and-see verdict: “The company stresses that the Duo software is still under development and says it plans to release monthly software updates. The odds seem decent. that after one or two updates it will work much better. But even if I was amazed at the idea this device presents, I would wait and see and not spend my money right now. ”

(And a historical footnote: one of my favorite McCracken articles of all time is 2012, post-facto look at another device ahead of its time: “A New Look at Newton”.)

Engadget

Microsoft Surface Duo review: addicting, expensive and messy business

Engadget’s Cherlin Lowe gives the Surface Duo what Ivy Leaguers might call “a gentleman’s C,” a score of 71 on a scale of 0 to 100 and notes that early results from the Google-Microsoft collaboration are promising:

“The Surface Duo is decent as a phone, rather poor as a tablet, and somewhat functional, like everything in between. That is when the software works as promised. But this is a $ 1,399 device that requires monthly updates from Microsoft to fix its many problems. ”

CNET

Microsoft Surface Duo Review: Cool Design, Sharp Performance

CNET’s Scott Stein opened his review by noting that the device “seemed promising … as the perfect little device for this new world of work from home.” And then it all fell apart in three stages: Stage 1: What a beautiful design. Stage 2: Hey, why isn’t anything working? Stage 3: How exactly do you use it? Stage 4: I miss my old comfortable phone.

Like many of his colleagues, Stein concluded that the Surface Duo takes time: “I like the idea of ​​experimenting, but I don’t like experiments that seem unpleasant. And right now I don’t understand who Duo is coming up with. But in a year it might be the best solution. ”

Gizmodo

Microsoft Surface Duo review: the start of the dual-screen revolution

Sam Rutherford cited his review noting that the Duo is “one of the most controversial phones in recent memory” and a bitter rebuke to the “causticity, mistrust and outright hatred” that the device has generated. This gives you an idea of ​​how it will end. “[A]In some cases, the $ 1,400 Surface Duo looks very experimental. But that’s to be expected when the device tries to start a revolution. ”

It has the same high notes (the design embodies “thoughtful elegance”) and low notes (disappointing characteristics and a “particularly disappointing” camera).

Therefore, it is not surprising that the conclusion is positive: “[E]Despite its flaws, Surface Duo is already an incredibly powerful business phone. … It’s Microsoft trying to replicate what it did when it created a new category of devices with the original Surface. It’s not ideal, but the revolution has already begun. ”