Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Details just dropped on the Surface Duo, including its insane screen resolution

Arif Bacchus
By

The holiday 2020 release of Microsoft’s dual-screen Android smartphone, the Surface Duo might be 11 months away, but Microsoft has remained relatively quiet about the device. With the announcement of a new software development kit (SDK) though, some of the first technical details about the displays and other aspects of the much-anticipated device have just become public.

First, there are the specifications of the screen. According to a tweet from Windows Central’s Zac Bowden, the Surface Duo will sport a resolution of 1,350 x 1,800 on each of the two displays. This hasn’t been confirmed, but if true, it would give the displays a pixel density of around 401 pixels per inch.

Recommended Videos

Compared to Samsung’s dual-screen Galaxy Fold, the difference is quite substantial. Samsung’s foldable smartphone sports 1,680 x 720 resolution when folded into 4.6 inches, and 2,152 x 1,536 when unfolded into a 7.3-inch screen.

Related

Microsoft’s own blog post about the new SDK also dives into how developers can find the information on how to build experiences for the Surface Duo. This reveals that the company is working on CSS, JavaScript, APIs and web standards for dual-screen devices, and also support for dual-screen Progressive Web Apps.

More importantly, though, the company explains that dual-screen devices can deliver “apps to delight people in a new and innovative way.” through various experiences with the screens.

Different dual-screen app patterns Image used with permission by copyright holder

For the average person, though, what matters most is how these apps will come to the screen. Much like on the Samsung Galaxy Fold, Microsoft says now the screens on Surface Duo and other dual-screen devices will provide different app patterns. These include “Extended Canvas,” “Two Page,” “Dual,” and “Companion Pane.” Microsoft also explains that apps will have a single-screen view by default but can be spanned to cover both screens when the device is put into double-portrait or double-landscape layout.

In addition to the Surface Duo, Microsoft also teased some more information about how developers can code their apps for Windows 10X and dual-screen Windows devices like the Surface Neo. The company will soon be releasing the Microsoft Emulator, which lets developers deploy and test their existing apps for dual-screen setups and Windows 10X. The emulator will simulate Windows 10X, and show how apps can interact with the new operating system.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Arif Bacchus
Arif Bacchus
Computing Writer
Arif Bacchus is a native New Yorker and a fan of all things technology. Arif works as a freelance writer at Digital Trends…
After two years, the new Surface Pro X is finally living up to its potential
Woman using the Surface Slim Pen on the Surface Pro X.

Today marked Microsoft's annual Surface event. This year a lot of attention might have been focused on the Surface Pro 8 and the new Surface Laptop Studio. Cool as they are, there's one small thing that was important to me: The new Surface Pro X.

The original Surface Pro X was announced about two years ago and delivered a massive redesign to the Surface Pro as we knew it. Yet it also had a custom Microsoft SQ1 chip based on an ARM-based processor under the hood. It was quite promising, and the hardware was beautiful, but it flopped for many reasons that we've well documented.

Read more
Everything Microsoft didn’t announce at its fall Surface event
Microsoft Surface Studio 2

Microsoft's annual Surface event has come to a close, and the company unveiled its fair share of surprises. From updates to existing lines like the Surface Pro 8 and the Surface Duo 2 to brand new products like the Surface Laptop Studio, there was no shortage of exciting announcements.

But as always, there are a few product lines that haven't gotten as much attention lately, leaving us to wonder when we'll see an update. Here's everything Microsoft didn't announce at its Surface event.
Surface Studio 3

Read more
Everything announced at the Surface event: Duo 2, Surface Laptop Studio, and more
All the new Surface products against a white background.

Ahead of Microsoft's fall Surface event, there was a lot of anticipation for what the company would announce. Not only is Microsoft's hardware event arriving weeks ahead of the company's debut of Windows 11, but it's widely believed that the company's Surface platform will serve as a launchpad for what consumers can expect for the next-generation operating system.

"Throughout our history as Surface, we have seen that the most meaningful experiences come from innovation at the intersection of hardware and software," Microsoft said of the launch. "This idea was the catalyst for Surface -- to build hardware that would not only be a stage for Windows, but push the platform and the ecosystem forward."

Read more