This is a phenomenally terrific piece of work by Microsoft - but only for the right user. It's not for everybody. It is for people who need it's big productivity advantage: the ability to run a separate program on each of it's two screens. For example, I use mine to do a Teams or Zoom meeting on one side, and take notes in OneNote on the other. And I can do that anywhere - while traveling, on a plane, on my back porch, in my office, etc. This alone makes it worth it's price. And what's a couple of extra hundred dollars when you are trying to keep track of difficult and highly fluid situations? I'm an analyst, responsible for a very complicated system that I am learning from scratch, so I have to take a lot of notes as well as search thru them (OneNote is ideal for that!). And of course all of my email, cloud and other data is synch'd onto my laptop and tablets.
I can also see how useful this would be for a sales type, where for example Salesforce would run on one side and your OneNote notes about the account on the other so that you have that reference information while working on an account. Just incredible.
And we can't always be in front of our laptops or desktops... so the ability to look up information *and* take notes about it at the same time on your mobile device is invaluable.
I run into a few people who point out the high price... well, look around. That phone your teen daughter spent hours in line for so that she could have the phone her friends have can be just as expensive. The wave of Android devices with folding flexible screens (which are notoriously fragile and will be for many years) is just as much. The Surface Duo, with Microsoft's uniquely brilliant dual screens and hinge, is far more durable. Kudos to Microsoft for this tremendous creativity.
Some call this type of product, a first release, a "version 1" product and avoid those first releases. Well, again, how much is your productivity worth? I've been in sales deals with hundreds of thousands or more where having access to information continuously or at a critical moment makes or breaks the deal. Again, that alone makes this worthwhile.
I also use Gaia on hikes, and use the GPS function to track hikes live and it hasn't missed a beat. The other screen I use for any notes, and also for photos. It's hinge has been completely durable, although of course like any other phone it's not waterproof or crush proof for hikes.
What could be better? This has a camera, it works well enough, but it's not a leading edge camera And there are not front and back cameras, only 1 - however the screens fold around 360 degrees (it's understood that the next version has 2 cameras). And the software to enable dual screens is all new (which Microsoft has made available for other manufacturer's Android devices) so there is the occasional clumsiness in some software. That is being actively addressed and hasn't held me back.
Again, the advantages of this phone are absolutely unique. Take advantage of them and win the battle for productivity!
Size: The two pics show my Surface Duo against the phone it replaced: a Galaxy Note 10+. The Note 10+ was thought of as "huge" when it came out... it took up a lot of space but it looks larger than the Surface Duo. Think of putting this in your side pocket. I hold each of these differently in my hand... and the Duo either closed, folded open, or at an angle like a book. And I often leave the Surface Duo standing partially open on my desk for convenience.
My background: I've had lots of smartphones with different operating systems, and I've always looked for productivity gains above and beyond just making calls! I'm hard on them, and I have high expectations. This phone is the very first new thinking in many many years. Thank you, Microsoft!

The listing clearly indicates that the unit is "unlocked" however, upon trying to use it with a CDMA sim card for Verizon, Microsoft indicated that it had to be "unlocked" by AT&T! I question the seller's motives for indicating it to be unlocked! Maybe it would be wiser to ask the Seller for the IMEI and Serial Number and check with Microsoft before buying!!!

A true LOVE - HATE relationship.

As it comes to the design and the creativity that was put into this device, it is truly a fantastic device. Premium feel, super thin. I think it is simply gorgeous. As it comes to useability though there are still a LOT of issues that either you ACCEPT or get TIRED of.

Positives: Design, wow factor - this thing makes me feel (long time Apple / iPhone user) like the first iPhone. People are curious about this device. It is unusual. Using the dual screen is amaizing. Screen quality is gorgeous. Typing is not too bad, or even comfy sometimes.

Negatives:

Even MS's own Surface Earbuds struggle to instantly connect to the device and even worse, to disconnect sometimes when they are not in use resulting in the draining of the battery.

Call quality through the buds sometimes leaves a lot to be desired.

The software is still quite buggy but much more usable then at the time of launch.

Taking a photo with this phone is a pure mess. Waiting for the right screen to activate which either works or not is a gamble.

As it comes to your privacy, should you not want to jump all in and let Google record every bit of your voice input, the assistant will only work in a limited way, hardly understanding what you want. Eg. "Open / Launch Tidal", instead of opening the app the assistant opens the website. It misunderstands oftenly even very precise instructions.

I for one gave up an iPhone 12 Pro Max for this device (at least for a couple of weeks).

To simply put the experience: with Apple and iOS things work FLAWLESSLY 99% of the time. With the Duo it is truly a gamble. This really reminds me my decade long experience using Windows until 2005. I found it to be "fun" to always having the challange of constantly needing to fix things to make everything just work, or improve slightly. Ever since 2005 though, when I have purchased a gorgeous 12" Powerbook, things were just WORKING and I have learned to enjoy things that were "just working" and carefully crafted to near perfection. Still, there is something about this phone that makes me crave it constantly.

So all and all do I recommend this device: overall YES because it is unique and simoly feels good. BUT only if you are OK putting up with constant issues. If you just want a device that works, buy into the Apple and iOS ecosystem. Nice try though Microsoft, you ALMOST made me convert!

Update:

A lot of things have improved during the past few month, especially ever since Andorid 11 is FINALLY out for the original Surface Duo. During the past few months I have switched back and forth between a good / trusted little iPhone 12 Mini and the Surface Duo. The iPhone was 99% reliable, while the Duo somehow always managed to get my attention back. They were switched every one or two month either being the main or the secondary device. So ever since the fall updates a lot of things have improved, usability, bluetooth connectivity, etc. I just recently sold off the iPhone and now with Android 11 finally running on the Duo this is my daily driver and I am starting to like it even more, even after several month of usage. It is still a very unique device, still a head turner, especially in Europe. One again a love and hate relationship that started to lean towards the love side, however there is still quite a bit to be desired, good improvements though"¦ If you can get it for a good price, GO for it, you are not going to regret it.

I have been a dual screen user for years LG G8X & LG V60). Purchased a Duo 1 here during the major sale a month or so ago. I have enjoyed it and directly compared it to my V60 in terms of multitasking and general functionality. Until the 12L update, I would have given the edge to the V60 which got everything right with exception of interfacing easily with Windows software. 12L is a GAME CHANGER and shows what the Duo and Duo 2 should have been Day One. Interfacing between my Windows 11 laptop and Duo is seamless and pen support is spot-on. Never cared about a camera array (that and price is pretty much why I avoided the Duo 2). As Microsoft has shown that the Duo is very much ALIVE; I look forward to additional improvements and the pending Duo 3 in a year or so.

I don't swap phones and devices all the time. Once I settle into a device, I like to hold on to it and make large upgrades. The device I was replacing was a Samsung Galaxy 7 Edge. It was really showing it's age. So, I looked at everything. I am a bit bored of slate phones so I didn't limit myself. Razr, Flip Z, One Plus, Samsung S21 Ultra - I looked at a ton of phones.

The market is a bit odd right now with new phones coming soon and shortages. I might have gone for the S21 Ultra note if it was out yet. I had pretty much written off the Surface Duo after reading reviews and seeing it was priced around $1400. However, the price was cut in half and the OS was patched. I have always been a Microsoft tech guy using Word, Excel, OneNote, Exchange/Outlook. I was intrigued.

I have been using the Surface I bought unlocked and added to Verizon with a free SIM card from the provider for a few days now. The bottom line for me? It's a game changer. I have fallen in love with the device. The camera isn't all that great. It's not even 5G. No wireless charger. Not a great batter life. Sounds terrible! But, for me it's all worth it. It's elegant. The hardware is superb. It's eye catching. People ask about it. It's an odd/combo between Google and MS. You get both sets of apps. But, when you get it setup with your own style of shortcuts, widgets, screens, settings - it's amazing. The ability to use multiple applications on independent screens is so sweet. Maps on the left, browser on the right. Outlook e-mail on the left, calendar on the right. The 1 click to launch favorite app combos is incredibly powerful.

The multiple ways to use it are amazing. One of my favorite is to bend it in half like a little laptop. Messages is on the top and at the bottom a large keyboard can be used with both thumbs. It is so fast to have that config. I paired it with some Jabra 85t elites. They work perfectly. There is so much to discover. The news application that flips pages and stories like a book reader is sweet. I haven't even started to install apps like RetroArch but apparently it is a awesome little gaming device when you get it setup like that. I installed the XBOX app. Everything is snappy and responsive.

I love the Outlook application. I was able to add in 4 different e-mail accounts including our corporate exchange server in almost no time. Having my standard outlook calendar is so nice on this device.

I am very excited that this opportunity presented itself. I would probably never have pulled the trigger if the price wouldn't have been lowered. And I would have missed out. I think it would have been worth it for the multi-tasking and flexibility. I am really looking forward to seeing if they roll in everything they have learned into a new Duo2. I would upgrade.