Surface phone 2020 : Enter the Duo

hinges should be fine, likely and extension of the muscle wire tech they already use in surface.

as for cracked screens, well all smartphones are screens out at all times, so I don't expect there to be a difference in that regard.

Case will be challenging though. That's something they need to sort out soon.
as others said , it will be slightly indented. As for a case , the metal frame is the casing. Perhaps a soft case on either side to protect against some shock when dropped ? However I keep a case on my note 9 to protect the screen not the back of the phone . My case is slightly higher than the screen so if it falls it will hopefully stop a crack. If the phone is closed then it should be fine.

Some employees already have prototypes to use around the campus. So I am sure they have already figured out most of this stuff. They have apparently had prototypes of this specific design for over a year and have another year to release. This wont be a galaxy fold.

Glass on glass could be an issue.

I am sure a soft case will be easy enough, but I do wonder what an otterbox would look like.
Otterboxes came about to protect the back glass of the iphones. A metal frame should be fine from drops. As I say above perhaps a soft bumper case to protect the edges from any drops.

right didn't even think of that. hard surface rubbing up against hard surface, may not lead to cracks but realize a lot of scratching instead.

The casing should be fine. I have a surface book at work and there are hardly any scratches on the back side of it even though a lot of times I have the screen flipped and folded back. Even then the average user has a phone for about 2 years. It should hold up well and a soft bumper case or even soft leather would work also. In fact with such a case it could be thinner than most phones in their bulky cases

That might be fine most of the time, but unless it's made of unobtanium that metal is going to flex under pressure (pocket). There's also the probability of debris contaminating the inside of the clamshell.
Can't fair worse than the apple bend gate. I keep my note 9 in my back pocket and after over a year of use I don't see any bending in it.

In what scenario do you need productivity on a phone?
One that wouldn't allow at least a tablet, nevermind a 2-in-1 like Surface Pro.

I have my phone on me all the time , I don't always have another device. I can use this on a trip or project to a monitor / tv and get work done with a blue tooth keyboard. Word and one note work really well like this on my note 9. For me a keyboard on a 5.6 or 5.8 (forget the size) would allow me to type much more efficiently than the quarter screen size keyboard on the note
 
That might be fine most of the time, but unless it's made of unobtanium that metal is going to flex under pressure (pocket). There's also the probability of debris contaminating the inside of the clamshell.

Maybe, but a thought just came to me when I opened up my Surface Book. If they deliberately have a tiny gap between the screens at the hinge similar to the much larger gap on the Surface Book, then only one edge of each screen will ever potentially come into contact with each other. It would be impossible for both screens to come fully into contact with each other.

Regards,
SB
 
About its gonna be bendy or not.

My cheap xiaomi phone's body is actually pretty bendy.

After I throw it to ceramic floor, the corner is dented. After I knock its sides to a piece of wood, it also got dented (the wood is fine)

When I disassembled it, I can bend the body with two fingers.

But when fully assembled as a complete phone, it can't be bent. It use the screen's backplate itself as the main rigid structure.

So I think if Microsoft want it to not be bendy, they will be able to do so (there are tons of ways to achieve it). But it's all again comes down to how thin, how lightweight, and how much it will cost to produce...
 
I have my phone on me all the time , I don't always have another device. I can use this on a trip or project to a monitor / tv and get work done with a blue tooth keyboard. Word and one note work really well like this on my note 9. For me a keyboard on a 5.6 or 5.8 (forget the size) would allow me to type much more efficiently than the quarter screen size keyboard on the note

By the point you are using an external monitor and keyboard, what does the phone's form factor matter?
 
By the point you are using an external monitor and keyboard, what does the phone's form factor matter?

I imagined it matters because it's small and you always have it with you wherever you go.

Having a meeting? Just bring your phone, and wireless display to the big screen projector and use the phone basically as touch screen / mouse / laser pointer

Go to work? No need to lug a laptop every single day. Leave keyboard and mouse and monitor at the office. You just need to bring your phone every day
 
I imagined it matters because it's small and you always have it with you wherever you go.

Having a meeting? Just bring your phone, and wireless display to the big screen projector and use the phone basically as touch screen / mouse / laser pointer

Go to work? No need to lug a laptop every single day. Leave keyboard and mouse and monitor at the office. You just need to bring your phone every day

Yeah, my point is: once you are using external input and output devices, what difference does it make if the phone has dual screens or if it has a more traditional smartphone form? I don't think that's the best example of a win for duo.
 
By the point you are using an external monitor and keyboard, what does the phone's form factor matter?
I said so in the second part you quoted. The screen size on my note 9 is to small for me to effectively type and read at the same time. having a second screen on me in the same space would help me be more productive.
 
I said so in the second part you quoted. The screen size on my note 9 is to small for me to effectively type and read at the same time. having a second screen on me in the same space would help me be more productive.

Sorry. I think I still don't understand you.
 
Otterboxes came about to protect the back glass of the iphones. A metal frame should be fine from drops. As I say above perhaps a soft bumper case to protect the edges from any drops

Sorry for the late reply on this I missed it.

Otterbox predates the iphone by nearly a decade. I think their early appeal had more to do with water proofing plus serious impact resistance.
 
Sorry. I think I still don't understand you.

I have large hands and fingers. Typing anything on my note 9 screen results in grammatical errors above and beyond my poor spelling. I tend to get a lot of added letters. This is because half the screen still has the data I am viewing or responding too. For instance if I am on reddit the half the screen shows what I am typing and the other half shows the keyboard. With a duo I can have what I am typing show up on the top screen and use the full bottom screen for a keyboard.

Alternatively when I connect to an external monitor I can have a full screen for typing and use the other screen as a touch input / track pad. I wouldn't have to travel with a keyboard and mouse or even a mouse. I currently have a Microsoft arc mouse which is amazingly small when folded. But its still as large as my phone almost and is another device to charge and keep on me.

I recently got to handle prototypes of this and the neo. Sadly they did not turn on lol but I can tell you the thickness is roughly the same as my note 9 and the device itself perhaps due to the balanced weight feels lighter than my note 9.

I think for me the duo and neo would be a good combination going into next holiday. My biggest question is the external camera. I like many have replaced a point and shoot with my cell phone for every day use. We will have a 2018 point and shoot we got a good deal on and my wife's dslr but those are for trips and special events. On the neo I don't care what camera it comes with as long as its good for video chat. With the duo I def need a high quality camera
 
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