Microsoft announces Surface Laptop Studio and Duo 2

Microsoft has announced a range of computers, laptops, and a dual-screen smartphone as part of its big Surface Windows 11 event. Every Surface device in some form or fashion has pushed the envelope of innovation. Its new devices can disruptively challenge the creativity, innovation, and direction of the mobile PC ecosystem. But let’s take a look at the products in the new Surface range that have caused the most stir.

The most anticipated device of the Surface event is the Surface Duo 2.  It is Microsoft’s first Android device since Windows Phone and the first and only “smartphone” in the Surface family that does not run Windows. The Surface Duo 2 has a dual-hinge design with a larger 8.3-inch PixelSense Fusion dual-display configuration. Microsoft has curved the two inner edges of each display to bring them closer and introduce a new Glance Bar feature. The Surface Duo 2 also has a higher 90Hz refresh rate and both displays must be synchronised. The biggest change is the new dynamic triple-lens camera that now forms a bump on the back of the device. This choice was a bit controversial because now the camera keeps the device from folding 360 degrees. However, the camera bump has a magnetic mechanism that snaps the displays together and is angled for a smaller gap between displays. In any way, the new Snapdragon 888 processor and its Spectra 580 ISP that takes advantage of a triple-lens camera make the camera thinness compromise well worth it. The Surface Duo 2 has a 12MP wide-angle lens, 12 MP telephoto lens, and a 16MP Ultra-Wide lens, and a Time of Flight sensor on the back. Microsoft has also upgraded the RAM from 6GB to 8GB. So, this upgrade should help with the Surface Duo 2’s software when it is running multiple apps at a time on each display. The starting price is $1,499.99 for the 128GB model. Other Surface Duo 2 configurations are $1,599.99 for the 256GB model and $1,799.99 for the 512GB model.

The other most interesting new device of the lot is the Surface Laptop Studio. This is a type of laptop workstation, designed to combine the best bits of Microsoft’s laptop and desktop computers. The chassis measures just 0.74 by 12.72 by 8.98 inches, and it weighs 3.83 pounds in the base model or up to 4 pounds for the Core i7 model. The display measures 14.4 inches diagonally with a 3:2 aspect ratio, making for a sharp 2,400-by-1,600-pixel resolution and has a 120Hz refresh rate. Also, the display can be flipped into a number of layouts to look like a tablet. 

The memory maxes out at 32GB, and storage at 2TB. The Surface Laptop Studio comes with 11th Gen Intel Core H35 processors and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti. The starting price is $1,599.99.