Surface Duo - the end of an era

 

This blog entry is way overdue - I promised to update on my original Surface Duo review in 2022.

I've recently retired my Microsoft Surface Duo, I unfortunately had to.  I got it for my my birthday in 2022 and it has been my favourite mobile phone ever, bar none.  Unfortunately it started playing up, overheating and the battery wasn't lasting more than a few hours.  Repair wasn't really an option - Microsoft didn't make this device to be opened and mended, support is due to be stopped probably this year or early next and you can't buy a new one for love or money.

It's a crying shame Microsoft bottled it again - they really don't seem to have the sticking power for the mobile phone market.  I loved the Microsoft Windows Phone OS.  It never took hold, to be fair, and developers failed to produce variants of their apps for it.  That was a big deal to many users, but the small amount of business apps that were available worked fine for me.  I wrote about my Windows phones here back in March 2017 and if you stick to the end you'll see I was actually right about what Microsoft would do,

I actually battled on longer than most with the OS.  When I dropped the Hewlett Packard phablet and broke it I bought a second-hand one off eBay.  What tipped me over the edge was when WhatsApp was discontinued - it was and is our family go-to messaging platform.  So I moved to a OnePlus 7 mobile phone, which was pretty cool and then on to the Duo 2 when it was launched, as described in the earlier blog post.

If it had a fault it was too slippery if I wore Chinos or linen trousers.  It would slip out of my pocket as soon as I sat down.  I sourced a felt slip to hold it in place and that was the big problem solved.  In the three years (nearly) it's been in daily use it hasn't lost its sheen.  It still looks brand new apart from the corner bumpers, which did start to show their age.  I would have replaced them but Microsoft stopped selling them.  The internal screens are spotless and they've never seen a screen protector.

Everyone who saw it commented.  It looked and was cool.  It should have been a runaway success, but wasn't.  The reason, no, the fault is Microsoft.  They never marketed it properly.  I only ever saw one other Surface phone in the wild and that was a battered version 1.  Clearly they saw it as the aspirational professional phone and it fitted the bill, but the cool executives getting their phones on expenses clearly stuck with Apple products.  Most normal people prefer to pay a bit less for their phones, I guess, and you probably wouldn't know they existed unless you got lost on Microsoft's online store or you bumped into me in the street.

Compare and contrast how Microsoft have marketed the Surface Pro laptops, like the one I'm typing this on, my third so far (the first suffered a fatal drop onto the drive and the second one is upstairs in working order.  There just happened to be a really good offer earlier this year for the 1Tb version and I'm a sucker for storage).  Surface Pro laptops are so popular in part, I'm speculating, because every other laptop on TV is a Surface Pro.  I've read somewhere that Apple don't let TV and film companies allow bad guys to use Apple products, I'm guessing Microsoft aren't as sensitive about these things.  If Microsoft had flooded the film and TV world with Surface Duo 2s I reckon they would have been able to drop the price and shifted loads.  But they didn't and last year they broke up the team working on the Surface Duo 3 and announced they were ceasing support for the OS as soon as they legally could.

All of this is a crying shame and I was endeavouring to keep the Duo going as long as I could - my banking apps would probably stop working as soon as support stopped for starters but the battery situation brought the timetable forward.

As it happens OnePlus launched a folding phone called the Open earlier this year and I stumbled across a sweet deal with a decent discount, plus they offer seniors, veterans and a host of other categories an additional discount on top.  If you're in the market for a OnePlus product, check out their discounts - it could be worth £££s.

The Open is good, very good in fact, but bulkier than the Duo and just not as cool, partly because you only have to open it for certain applications.  Don't get me wrong, it's a great phone, but I was really looking forward to eking out the last few months of the Duo and welcoming version 3.  But it was not to be, I'm over it now.  I'll post a review of the Open in a little while.

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Surface Duo 2 review

 Last year I blogged about the Microsoft Surface Duo.  It was in its first incarnation, I hadn't actually seen it in the flesh and, critically, hadn't touched let alone used one.  As it happens the first iteration of the Duo didn't fare well - by all accounts it was buggy, had a higher than expected failure rate and the surface ironically didn't pass the test of time.

Fast forward a year and a bit and Microsoft are selling the replacement, the Surface Duo 2.  I've been watching this story develop and reading the reviews for a while.  The consensus is that it is a much better device, actually is usable as a mobile phone (or cell phone to those across the pond) including 5G and is better finished.  The upshot from several reviewers is that the device is suited to users who are a little bit geeky and quirky.  Sounds like me, perfect.

The launch price was horrendously expensive, but recently Microsoft lopped about £500 off all the models - anything that can be reduced by £500 in one strike must have been overpriced by any definition - and I found on my birthday to be the recipient of a very expensive - even with the lopping-off exercise it's still pricey at just under a grand - Surface Duo 2 - the 256Gb version.  My wife also bought me the Surface Slim Pen and the bumper pack - more about those items in a while.

One of the things that gave me cause to pause - apart from the price - was the form factor.  I've moved from a OnePlus 7T Pro which is tall and slimmish across the front - although broader than the Nord.  The Duo is shorter than the 7T, but a tad broader across the hips, plus of course it unfolds into two different screens.  Watching the promotional videos on the Microsoft shop it looked to be easy to hold, but deep down I was concerned they might have just used actors with big hands.  The only time they showed it being put in a pocket was into a jacket pocket, not the trouser pocket I suspect most of us use for our phones.  In use it isn't too big, without any sort of case it slips easily into my trouser pocket and boy, despite having two screens folded into each other, it is slim.

What wasn't clear from some of the reviews I had read is that it is a dual sim phone - some reviews were very critical that a phone that is aimed at the business user only had one sim slot, a sentiment I would agree with if it were completely true.  However, despite only having one physical sim slot it also has a sim chip on board, so can (and does) take an eSim.  This is useful for me as my preferred day-to-day carrier, EE, is useless at work.  I tend to have my phone turned off when teaching, but accessing it from my desk is a bugbear, so I've installed a Vodafone eSim to give me a number I can use without having to leave the building and making myself contactable while in work.  It's an additional £6 a month for the plan, but it's proven useful already.  Installing the eSim wasn't as straightforward as the advertising blurb would suggest and eventually it was installed remotely over the home wi-fi by a Vodafone tech, but I suspect the issue was more likely to be Vodafone's than Microsoft's.

In use it took a few days to get my head around using it.  I did the recommended WhatsApp backup and used the built-in utility to transfer my apps and contact details across via bluetooth.  Microsoft put a handful of app icons across the two screens and have a couple of folders for the remainder.  What wasn't obvious, to me at least, was that the plus symbol above these folders was there to open the full range of apps.  Once you realise that you can select apps to appear initially in the folder and, if you prefer, you can drag it outside of the folder to sit on the main screens.  One of the apps pre-loaded onto the screen is a calendar app and I was initially disappointed it hadn't dragged my calendar entries across.  I was doubly disappointed when it didn't seem to have the ability to set up repeating appointments.  Once I found the hidden apps, though, I found my old calendar app that came with all my legacy information.  I think it is a OnePlus calendar, but maybe it's a Google offering.  Either way, it is now pride of place on the front screen. 

A nice touch - literally - is the fingerprint sensor.  I've found these to be unpredictable in use on previous devices.  My old HP Windows phone worked most of the time, but would let me down at the least convenient points, and the fingerprint detector on my Surface Pro keyboard is so flaky I haven't bothered to use it for ages - luckily the Windows Hello face recognition has improved tremendously so I tend to frighten my Surface Pro into opening with a glance these days.  The fingerprint detector, about 2mm wide, unlocks every time.  You only need to use a PIN to unlock the phone when you reboot which, given it's a Microsoft device, appears to be more often than most phones.  It might be just me, but I've rebooted quite a bit to resolve small issues.  Probably there are more technical solutions available, but turning it off and turning it on again seems to be my go-to these days.

The bumper pack is a must, in my opinion, and it is irritating that you have to pay £40 for something that is essential.  The edges of the screens look incredibly vulnerable without the bumpers and I would recommend anyone considering buying a Surface Duo includes the cost when making their decision.  They come in a variety of colours, so I suspect that would be Microsoft's excuse for not including them, but I'm sure that could be overcome with a little simple programming on the sales site software - I'm sure they have access to people with suitable skills.  As it happens my wife knows me very well and bought black bumpers to go with the cool black obsidian exterior. They are a breeze to fit - peel off the protective film from the adhesive side and press into place.  Well-engineered, they slot into position perfectly and one month on appear to holding their own without any issues.

Apart from protecting the edges, the bumpers also help overcome the stiction provided by the hinge.  Microsoft know how to design a hinge and the phone screens will stay in whatever position you choose to leave them in.  The bumpers provide a little tactile grip to the edges which could be a tad slippy without them.

Microsoft provide a USB earphone set with the phone - the sound is great, and we can't detect any sound leakage in use at home.  If you want an input device the recommended extra is the Surface slim pen.  Currently discounted by £10, it is selling for £110 on the Microsoft shop and is a super accessory for the Duo.  What is stated but not necessarily clear is that most people also need to buy the charging unit for the pen to use it - mine sat unable to be used for nearly a week after getting the Duo as it arrived uncharged and I didn't have any way to charge it apart from ordering a charger, which is another £30 on top.  I say most need one - some Surface Pro keyboards including the one provided for the Studio seemingly come with a charger built in, so a small number of purchasers will be able to avoid that charge.

Is the pen worth £110 + £30 for the charger?  It certainly is a neat input device; you can open OneNote with a single click of the top of the pen and then open a page where you can use the Duo as an electronic notebook.  A double click takes a screenshot of both screens that you can then edit to include only the detail you need.  I don't think I've had my money's worth out of the pen yet, but it's early days and I'm finding new ways of using the Duo daily.

The device certainly is a smart, head turning piece of tech and I'm keen to keep it looking tidy.  To that end I've bought a felt slip case off eBay.  The seller tailors the case to include bumpers, if you have them fitted, and a loop for the slip pen that keeps it held tightly.  You just have to be clear when ordering what you need.  It increases the bulk of the device and makes it snug in my trouser pockets but it also means it won't slip out when sitting down and protects the device generally - I tend to sit the Duo on the slip case when it is out but not on active duty.

I'm pleased with the Duo so far, one month in, but I'll provide an update probably in the New Year on how it has performed over time.

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It takes two - the Surface Duo

 I'm a bit of a Microsoft fan these days.  That wasn't always the case - I can recall a time when I felt they were dominating the world and I have an aversion to monoliths.  Now it seems that the world is divided into four or so massive monoliths I'm never going to win that particular argument.

In the  past I've backed the underdog - for a while I was a Palm champion, extolling the virtues of their products.  I wrote a large part of the Journeymen on the T5 while shuttling between north Wales and Arkansas on a project using a Palm keyboard.  It was the tiniest laptop you ever saw.  I loved the T5, arguably the precursor to the smart phone that was smashed by the iPhone appearing at about the same time my T5 was dying.  Repairs were impossible, new models unlikely, so for a while I played around with middle-market Android phones.

Then I jumped on the Windows phone - surely the kiss of death when I adopt.  I bought a top end HP Windows phone to complement first my Surface RT laptop, then my first Surface Pro.  The RT didn't die - my son-in-law is trying to get it to run on Linux at the moment, but it did become a problem as nobody was supporting the ARM chipset, hence the move to a grown up Surface Pro.

I'd evaluated the first instance of the Surface Pro for a former employer as a device to use carrying out fire safety audits of commercial premises and at the time thought  it too bulky and heavy - the later generations addressed that.  I'd still have my Surface Pro 4 if it wasn't for the paving stones outside my front door.  Them and gravity.  So I bought my second Surface Pro a while back, a V6.  I've also found  myself on my third keyboard - unintentional experiments with the first two demonstrated that Coors is a poor lubricant and single malt whisky even worse.  I'm still using the original Surface Pen but the nib is looking ropey these days - since lockdown I've been teaching engineering students science and maths on the Surface Pro with the assistance of Microsoft Whiteboard. That pen has seen some use and is soon to be replaced.

Anyway, back to the Windows phone - I loved the way it worked, how it integrated with my Surface Pro, my diary, my life.  I stopped writing books on mobile phones a while back but if any phone would support that, the HP would.  I guess I got what Apple aficionados get with the Apple environment but without the crowds or the self affirming back slapping and knowing glances.  I don't think I met more than half a dozen other Windows phone users in the time I was using the HP, and none seemed as keen as I was.  Eventually the first HP went the way of the first Surface Pro - landing face down on my patio out back.  Is it me, or is it just gravity?  Newton has a lot to answer for in this household.

I bought a second hand model on eBay and that worked but eventually Microsoft gave up on the Windows phone idea, which was a bummer for me, and then WhatsApp stopped supporting it.  I replaced it with a OnePlus T8, which is kind of cool, love the pop-up selfie camera and I've skinned it with a Windows overlay so it works as an Android but fits in with my MS toys - sorry - equipment.  I've still got the second-hand HP in a drawer in the shed, it hasn't even hit a hard surface or had alcohol poured over it.  There's still time.

Microsoft have seemed to come to terms with exiting the phone software arena, and have embraced Android in an anti-Apple kind of way.  They produce the skins I mentioned that lets  me use my Office 365 software seamlessly, access the OneDrive and apart from a lack of Windows tiles makes me feel all Microsofty inside.  And after a few years of leaks, rumours and even an official announcement ahead of the pandemic, they're returning to the fray with a Surface branded phone.

Patent leaks over the last few years showed Microsoft were interested in creating some sort of folding phone but they've moved away from the Samsung approach and in a ballsy way have bucked practically every trend by linking two screens together with a brace of hinges.  They are, it must be noted, very good at high tech hinges as anyone who has used a Surface Pro or a Surface Studio will attest.  They don't even call the new device, the Surface Duo, a phone.  It's clearly pitched as a computer with two screens, smart features and - oh, by the way, it takes calls too.  Finally someone has realised that the majority of phones today are used for anything other than making and receiving phone calls.

Given the spec it is feasible that I could end up writing my next novel on a Duo, a la Palm T5, but at the current price - about £1400 in the UK - I would need something in addition to the current offering.  I know Microsoft make a special hinge for the Surface Studio - they call it the anti-gravity hinge - given my track record with tech I could do with that technology being extended to the rest of the device before I shell out that much money!

An alcohol repellent product would be a boon, too.

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