Microsoft’s Surface Duo 3 will not feature a dual-screen design like the original Surface Duo and the Surface Duo 2, according to an exclusive report last week from our Senior Editor Zac Bowden. Instead, the Surface Duo 3 will have an internal foldable display, much like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, Vivo X Fold, and HONOR Magic Vs. Since the report emerged, Duo users and Surface enthusiasts have weighed in on the shift.
Our Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino argued that “Surface Duo going to a single folding screen is lame, but the right call to make.” Our Zachary Boddy explained that the move away from two screens has tempered his excitement for the next Duo.
While there are mixed feelings on the Surface Duo subreddit and around the web, at least some Duo fans are disappointed by the move away from a dual screen design.
We’d like to know how you think Microsoft should make its next Surface mobile device. It’s worth noting that the device covered by Bowden may not be called the Surface Duo 3 but for the sake of simplicity we’ve referred to it as such.
When Microsoft made the Surface Duo and Surface Duo 2 the team behind the devices explained how two displays were better for multitasking than one. The company appears to have either evolved beyond that thinking or submitted to the fact that the general public wants single-screen foldables. This has upset some Duo users.
“The entire draw of the duo was [its] unique form factor. We all overlook [its] flawed software because the hardware is so good.” argued Reddit user cicinho_ck.
“Switching the hardware to copy the company who do it better than everyone else will kill this entire line.”
Regardless of Microsoft’s reasoning, it seems unlikely that the Duo 3 will have two displays in the same layout as the Duo or Duo 2.
While many hope that Microsoft will create a Duo with a single 360-degree folding display, Bowden says that’s not the plan:
“Microsoft recently filed several design patents for single-screen foldables with a 360-degree hinge, leading some reports to speculate that this might be what the next Surface Duo pivots to. My sources say this is inaccurate, and that the foldable device will instead feature a 180-degree hinge just like most other foldable phones.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean that people can’t wish for a 360-degree design. It’s just important to temper expectations.
Many foldables feature an internal foldable display and an outer display for one-handed use and acting like a traditional slab phone. Samsung, Vivo, and Oppo all have phones with that general design. Microsoft could follow in the footsteps of those companies and then try to differentiate its device with software and other experiences.
