Surface Duo moves even closer to getting released
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Why it was just yesterday when we told you that the dual-screened Surface Duo had recently visited the FCC. And today, we can tell you that the Android powered device has received its Bluetooth certification from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. What this all means is that Microsoft has the pedal to the metal as it looks to unveil what it is positioning as a productivity device before Samsung introduces the Galaxy Z Fold 2 on August 5th. The Bluetooth SIG certification shows that the device has a model number of 1930 which is the same model number that the FCC documentation listed for the Surface Duo. According to the SIG, the device will feature Bluetooth 5.0.
Microsoft could release the Surface Duo earlier than expected
The Surface Duo receives its Bluetooth certification
When Microsoft introduced the Surface Duo last year, the plan was to release the device in time to capture sales during the holiday shopping season. Microsoft's Surface Duo webpage says that the device is still coming during Holiday 2020 although things are moving so rapidly that the productivity tool could be released earlier than expected. Earlier this year, there was speculation that Microsoft was going to have the dual-screened model ready to go ahead of expectations.
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The Surface Duo comes with a pair of 5.6-inch AMOLED displays that open up to form a tablet-sized 8.3-inch screen with that aforementioned hinge in the middle. The Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform, Qualcomm's 2019 flagship chip, will be under the hood along with 6GB of memory and storage options of 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. A single 11MP camera is onboard and the lights are kept on thanks to a 3460mAh capacity battery.
The Surface Duo supports 4G LTE and does not feature a 5G modem. That doesn't prevent Microsoft from following what Samsung did with the Galaxy Z Flip by adding a Surface Duo 5G variant down the road. But that would only be a possibility if the original model sells well.
Yesterday we told you that tipster Evan Blass says that the Surface Duo will be offered by AT&T. However, he later noted that there is no exclusivity deal so other carriers in the states could get part of the action.
Google has been working with Microsoft to optimize its apps for the dual screens. While some had hoped that the software giant would bring back the Windows Phone operating system, the so-called "app gap" was just to much to overcome. This refers to the paucity of popular apps that were available to Windows Phone users back in the day. It was a vicious cycle really. Developers refused to build a Windows Phone version of their apps because of the operating system's microscopic market share of the smartphone market. But not having those apps available is what helped Windows Phone achieve those low market share figures in the first place. In addition, Microsoft happens to own some patents related to Android; even during the best of times the company made more money from those patents than it ever did selling handsets powered by Windows Phone.
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