Remember when Microsoft first unveiled the Surface Duo and it was the coolest phone you’d ever seen? At $1,399, it was also one of the most expensive phones back then and in case you were short by $1,171, the phone is currently 84 percent off.
The Surface Duo is an amazing piece of tech but it’s certainly not for everyone. For starters, it was released in late 2020, so it doesn’t have the latest specs. That’s not even the worst part.
It’s dated even for a 2020 phone. It doesn’t support wireless charging. It doesn’t have NFC. It can’t connect to 5G networks. If you can see the magic beneath the shortcoming though, you’ll favor it over a top foldable phone any day, which is the reason why many owners are still clinging to it.
The Surface Duo is a dual-screen device, so it’s more durable than phones with bendable screens. The two 5.6-inch screens are separated by a hinge and this compartmentalization makes it a productivity beast.
You can have a website open on one screen and take notes on the other. You can view your inbox on one side and go through your calendar on the other. Have Amazon open on the left side and eBay on the right for a quick price comparison. DM me for more examples…
Yes, you can do all of that on the Fold 5 and Pixel Fold as well, but the Duo’s wider screens make the experience better.
It has the Snapdragon 855 chipset under the hood, which is several generations old, but is sufficiently smooth for most use cases. And, yes, the phone no longer gets updates, but it still gets Google Play System Updates, so you are not exactly at the mercy of cybercriminals.
The phone has a 360 hinge and you can fold it all the way back around to use it as a conventional phone.
Woot is currently selling the Surface Duo for only $227.99. It’s a brand new unit but without its original box and is also AT&T locked. That’s not ideal, but hey, it’s a small compromise for a dope device.
