Ignore the hate, Surface Duo 2 is GOOD | One Month Review

My Current Gear

[andyfulton]

Loving these reviews of the Duo 2 mostly due to the balanced view, no attempt at fanboyism, on the contrary pointing out it's limitations and clearly stating where things are your own personal preferences. I had a bit of trepidation before i went ahead with my purchase, mostly based on some of the reviews i'd seen on Youtube and elsewhere, but those trepidations were put to rest after watching some of your reviews.

I switched from an iPhone 11 pro max, so the bar was set high. First impressions of the Duo 2 in my own hand would have put some people off, the first unit shipped to me had touchscreen issues on the lower side of the right hand screen so i had to return it. the replacement unit crashed on me whilst going through the initial setup, and i've had further crashes since, though they're few and far between now.

On the whole I'm loving it, it's lovely to have a device with a bit of character to it, no single slab of metal/glass, but something distinctive. The size and weight are no issue, whilst you can feel it is heavier than the iPhone, it's not substantially so. The 2 screens are awesome, as you've pointed out it's not a foldable tablet so you shouldn't view it as such, the benefits are being able to use 2 apps side by side. i guess in time more apps will be optimised for duel screens like kindle or outlook, but for me there's no issue as things are.

it's also a surface device, so you kinda know MS will continue to work on it and add features/functionality over time.

So glad i came across your videos Shane, i probably would have gone out and bought it anyway, but you pointed out some of the idiosyncrasies of it so i knew what to expect and that helped when i got my hands on it.

if anyone else is bothered about my opinion, I'd have to hesitation in recommending it if you're looking for a duel screen device...it's awesome!!

[FXNHD]

It’s refreshing to see a video like this because you and few (and I mean just a few) others actually took the time to learn and appreciate the device. I fell victim to returning the first Surface Duo shortly after I got it. Now I regret going back to iPhone, because I now understand that I’m stuck using one screen. I may trade-in for the Duo 2 now since most of the bugs have been fixed since the last iteration. Also, I’m just like you when it comes to actually enjoying two displays at once. My brain functions better that way 😅. Productivity is king in the Surface Duo lineup. Thanks again for the great review! ✊🏾

[robcrichlow]

This is was great review. You focused on all of the things I personally like about my Duo 2. I agree that how I feel about the Duo 2 is subjective, but it just works and gets the job done. It does it in way that I really enjoy using. Thanks for the great 1 month review.

[GetTheFOutOfMyWay]

I've had my Duo 2 for 3 days now and I gotta say I'm not only surprisingly happy currently, but I feel like this thing isn't going to break on me in one way or another at any moment. Zero regret at this point. Thanks for the trade in tip too. I'm also, trying to sell my tab s7 as I don't feel I need it since the Duo 2 will now be my primary device going forward.

[R.B.]

That phone mode touch rejection issue was something I noticed on the Duo as well, usually when I'm trying to type. Once I realized that, it is pretty easy to make adjustments and I don't really give it a second thought.

[pjllb]

Shane, thanks for this update review. I agree with your observations. There is one interesting thing I discovered while testing the GCam port versus the stock camera app on the Duo 2. I took some low-light shots with both. The GCam image was a better (not extraordinarily better), but when I used Google Photos to enhance the stock image it became very close to the GCam image. Image processing is the key obviously. It's good to know that the Duo 2 camera hardware is up to the task. Now Microsoft needs to catch up with its image processing software.

[srdurrett]

I have a very similar experience. I have had very few bugs, love the two screens and multitasking. Coming from someone who also has a Zfold 3, this is a great device. Great review...keep em coming.

[JasonWendling]

Great everyday guy review. Well spoken and articulate. Thanks!

[RebelMagpie]

I have the problem work the keyboard not appearing somewhat regularly. I've learnt that closing and opening the screens fixes it every time.

[nickthaskater]

Can you try using freeform windows on it? Enable in developer options along with "force activities to be resizeable" and "enable freeform size compatibility."

It'd be a compelling argument for its multitasking chops if it worked well with pop up windows like that on top of the dual full-screen apps.

[vstephenchow]

Hi there,
very good review indeed,
the cellular reception you mentioned at 11:00, may i add some comment: its because eg the service provider with 10 antenna site in the district, the number of 5G (nowaday) may be 8, whilst the 4G only antenna site may be 2 only, if your cellular plan is 4G only, then you can only receive signal from those 2 sites only. whilst if your cellular plan is 5G, then you can access signals from all 8+2 sites that why 5G plan device do receive better signal (even you are using a 4G device)
tks

[RebelMagpie]

I have a client who only allows me access to their systems via RDS. Surface Duo 2 is a great spanned RDS client. I have Outlook (on Windows RDS) set up so that the reading pane takes up the right hand screen exactly so it works just like the native (phone) Outlook client. Even Teams works great, running in Windows over RDS.

[EdwinFairchild]

i tend to turn animations off on my devices, makes them feel lightning fast

[zekeeg]

If you're in Canada you still can't use the Duo with the Freedom mobile network. Microsoft didn't add the necessary bands required to make and receive calls. Text and data work off cellular but making and receiving calls is still shot. I'm switching carriers because I do want to use the Duo 2 as my primary.

[Just.Here.For.Comments]

Thanks for the update.

On another note, have you seen on the Facebook group that charging ports are starting to break again?!?!? 😫

[KelvinARobinson]

Hi, I'm checking to see if anyone else has experienced the same difficulties that I've experienced with 2 Surface Duo 2s. When the first unit arrived I migrated everything (well almost) from a Samsung Note 9. I then connected to my Windows 10 PC to transfer my music and documents. When I clicked on the Duo 2 it came up with "This Folder is empty", the same error occurred on my Windows 11 Surface Book 2. I contacted support and allowed them access to my PC to demonstrate the error and I could show that my system worked with the Note 9 so error was definitely with the Duo. Today I received a second Duo 2 and the same error is occurring.
Does anyone have any hints???

[levongarcia]

I heard you mention band. I still have the first duo. I have 30 or forty gigs with my hotspot, when I use my duo it's unlimited is that a perk? If not and I'm lucky as well as others hope we don't lose that by putting this out there.

[vmac]

Great review. I'm getting use to the way of doing things on my Duo 2. I've thought about the spins and after thinking about it, I think using it for notifications was an after thought. I believe the curved screen was just an effort to close the gap a bit and help it feel smoother, when moving or spanning apps. Then the question probably came up about the exposed screen, when closed and what can be done with it.

If Microsoft opened that feature up to Devs, I'm sure some pretty cool, even if not very functional, features could be implemented.

[Inkabodcrane]

Great follow-up video. Because of much of your coverage, I bought one a little over a week ago and I am in heaven. I've used a dual monitor setup at home and work for decades, and this just makes me feel right at home. There is nothing else like it, as you showed. Browsing twitter, see a link you want to look at, open it on the other window. Playing a game on one while watching a video or podcast on the other, etc. I do hope for solid updates in general, but I haven't noticed a problem while typing so far. Anyways thanks for the video(s), I'll keep watching. Usually on my Duo 2!

[chrisstaubyn]

I agree with most of your assessment. Battery life is good but it's picky of which charger it likes.

I didn't think of the back screen waiting for input. That probably explains the only touch related issue I have. Everything else in regards to touch just works, but I should also mention I use swipe to type instead of taping characters.

I find the audio output level to be low whether wired or Bluetooth.

I'm also getting signal in places I didn't before.

I'm enjoying the glance bar but I think it could be more flexible. It should be able to allow the notifications, charge level or clock to be always on.

I use the same posture when taking videos but I disagree with your assessment of the video camera. It's not just a little bad. It's just plan bad. It's not just stability, it handles exposure really bad even in good lighting. I got videos in the middle of the day with perfect lighting with flickering because it doesn't know what to do about the exposure for the shot.

Other than that, the only bug I have gotten is the one where the left screen randomly cut off. It hasn't happened enough to be a deal breaker though.

Overall I have already decided to keep it. I even got the slim pen 2 and charge cover for it after only a week and a half of use. My productivity is through the roof with this thing. It's awesome!