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Man creates the Surface Duo using his 3D printer

By Alan Friedman

Updated: Aug 12, 2020, 7:51 AM

Man creates the Surface Duo using his 3D printer

The dual-screened Microsoft Surface Duo is expected to be unveiled sometime this month. While Microsoft wanted to introduce the phone before Samsung makes the Galaxy Z Fold 2 official on August 5th, barring an unveiling before this Wednesday, Microsoft's dreams won't come true. The Surface Duo is equipped with a pair of 5.6-inch AMOLED displays with a 1350 x 1800 resolution. A revolutionary 360-degree hinge connects the two displays; at a 180-degree angle the screens create an 8.3-inch tablet with the aforementioned hinge in the middle.

Powered by the Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform and paired with 6GB of memory, the Surface Duo will have storage configuration options of 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. A single 11MP camera doubles as the primary camera and as the front-facing selfie snapper. A 3460mAh battery is included and Android 10 is pre-installed. A few weeks after being launched, the Surface Duo will be updated to Android 11.

Some people are so eager to get their hands on the Surface Duo to see what the device might feel like in hand. A Twitter user known as Joshua The Son of Nun (via MSPoweruser) warmed up his 3D printer and printed a version of the Surface Duo. The first time, he printed out the two screens and connected them with packaging tape. Of course the device does not work since it does not include any of the internal electronics that would be required to make the facsimile run.

Surface Duo. #3dPrinted https://t.co/nCr08ZRCER pic.twitter.com/auLB3FgtFp
— Joshua The Son of Nun (@SonofNun) July 28, 2020

An ambitious fellow, Joshua updated his Surface Duo with "an unintentionally crappy paint job." He created 3D hinges using a resin printer for the small parts. Speaking of the hinges, he tweeted, "And I just want to point out the mechanical marvel that the real hinges are going to be. They need to transfer data and power from side to side, and they need to have a tensioning system to synchronize the hinges and keep it from flopping open/closed..."

The Surface Duo will not come with 5G, at least not the first iteration of the phone. Microsoft is positioning the device as a productivity tool and has been working with Google to optimize Android to work smoothly with the dual screens.

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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