Microsoft Surface Duo 2 Specifications, Tests and Review

The Microsoft Surface Duo 2 has a height of 145.2 mm, a width of 92.1 mm and a thickness of 11 mm. The weight of the phone is 284 g.

The screen size reaches 5.8" inches. With a large display, phone offers a great experience for watching videos, playing games and reading. The best phones today are 6.5'' or more. They have the advantage of a large display area that allows you to see more content than with conventional display sizes. Owing to OLED technology, the display offers a true representation of colours, especially black. The resulting contrast is significantly higher and colours appear more vivid. OLED technology is now part of most smartphones, while LCD displays are becoming a thing of the past in mobile phones. OLED displays also have lower power consumption compared to LCD technology.

Display Resolution of Microsoft Surface Duo 2 is 1344 x 1892 pixels. A higher display resolution is a prerequisite for a sharper image. The standard for mid-range phones today is a Full HD resolution of 1920 × 1080 px. Cheaper phones, which usually have a smaller diagonal, have an HD resolution of 1280 × 720 px. Smaller resolutions can only be found in older models. Best phones, on the other hand, have a 4K resolution of 3840 x 2160 px. Display´s pixel density is 401 ppi and represents another significant factor affecting image sharpness besides resolution. The higher the value, the sharper the image. Average value is currently about 350-400 ppi, which guarantees a fine and sufficiently sharp image. Finest modern phone displays reach 450 ppi and above.

The refresh rate is 90 Hz. This value indicates how many times per second display shows new information. Previously, 60 Hz was considered the standard, but today the average frequency for mid-range phones is more like 90 Hz. Modern phones now reach frequencies of around 120 Hz and above. Higher frequencies mean a better user experience when browsing the internet and especially when playing games.

Microsoft Surface Duo 2 is equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G. The number of processor cores is 8. It is a number of cores that plays an important role in evaluating the performance of phone as it is responsible for computing operations. Smartphones already commonly have a core count of around 4 to 8. Multi-core processors can perform better and reduce the processing time of a request to a minimum, which is reflected in the responsiveness of the phone, e.g. in the speed of opening applications.

The phone´s internal memory capacity is 128 GB. The size of the internal storage determines e.g., how many photos, songs, movies, or applications you can store on your phone. For everyday use and storing photos, songs or movies, this medium-sized internal storage is ideal. The advantage is also a lower price of phones equipped with this storage capacity. Best phones today range from 256 GB to 1 TB. That size is suitable for the most demanding users who shoot a lot of high-resolution photos or videos in 4K. Nevertheless, you'll have to pay extra for these higher capacities. Luckily, most smartphone manufacturers nowadays offer models with different memory sizes to suit every user.

RAM memory of the Microsoft Surface Duo 2 is LPDDR5 SDRAM - 8 GB. Most powerful phones currently have an operating memory of 12 GB or more, which is especially useful for demanding users such as gaming enthusiasts. Normally, phones nowadays have 6 to 8 GB of RAM, which means that the phone can easily handle normal operation and more demanding applications. Operating memory of less than 4 GB is found in lower-end phones or older models, and they are suitable for low-end users who don't use demanding applications and have the phone more for basic use.

The rear camera of the Microsoft Surface Duo 2 is equipped with 3 lenses, with each lens having a different role in taking pictures. Most common lens you'll see on smartphones is a wide-angle lens, telephoto lens or macro lens. A wide-angle lens is mainly used to capture landscapes and other spatially larger compositions where a wide field of view is needed. A telephoto lens is designed for photographing subjects at a distance and often has an optical zoom. A macro lens is ideal for close-ups and small objects. The resolution of the main lens is 12 Megapixel. Higher resolution does not necessarily mean super high quality photos. Furthermore, it depends on the pixel size but also on other important factors. Pixel size is 1.4 μm. Average value is typically around 0.8 μm to 1.8 μm on better mobile phones, and again, the higher the number, the higher the photo quality. The aperture of main lens reaches F/1.7 value. The best phones have a lens with an aperture of up to F/1.5, where more light can pass through sensor and photos will be of a high quality even in low light conditions. However, lenses with apertures around F/1.8 to F/2.2 are the most common. The lower the number after the slash, the better the photo quality.

Digital zoom in this case offers zooming up to 10x. Of course, the higher the lens value, the more distant object can be zoomed in. Nonetheless, the disadvantage of digital zoom is that the quality and sharpness of photo deteriorates when using it. An undeniable advantage is the optical image stabilisation, which makes image significantly more stable without any loss in quality. Cheaper phone models are equipped with electronic stabilisation, which has a negative effect on the resulting image quality.

Second camera
The second lens of rear camera is designed as Telephoto lens. The resolution reaches size of 12 Megapixel. Pixel size in this case is 1 μm. Furthermore, the second lens is equipped with aperture of F/2.4.

Third camera
The third lens is designed as Ultra wide-angle lens. The field of view reaches 110 degree(s). The resolution of third lens is then 16 Megapixel. The pixel size that significantly affects quality of photo is 1 μm. Last but not least, third lens is equipped with a lens aperture of F/2.2.

Front camera
The front camera of phone Microsoft Surface Duo 2 has one lens. This number of lenses is standard on most smartphones nowadays. The resolution of front lens reaches 12 Megapixel. Again, it should be noted that resolution is only one of several other significant factors that affect resulting quality of a photo. The pixel size itself is 1 μm. The main lens is also equipped with aperture of F/2.0.

The battery size of Microsoft Surface Duo 2 is 4449 mAh. Nevertheless, battery capacity is not the only factor that affects the phone's battery life. For example - the size of the display, the performance of the processor, the use of data functions and, of course, the intensity of use of phone in general all have a significant impact on battery life. Standard for most smartphones today is a battery capacity of around 4500 to 5000 mAH. Phones with this battery size usually guarantee a phone life of at least 1 day. Older or cheaper smartphone models can then reach battery capacities typically around 2500 mAH and below. With this capacity, you may find that if you use your phone heavily, you may need to recharge your phone during the day. Talk time, or we can say battery life when making calls, then indicates amount of time your phone will last from a full charge if you are constantly on a call. Microsoft Surface Duo 2 is provided with a talk time about 1680 minutes.

Microsoft Surface Duo 2 supports 5G. 5G connectivity, which is slowly replacing standard 4G connectivity, is still more the preserve of the latest phones. The operating system in this case is Android 11.

Fans of modern technology will appreciate NFC function, which allows, among other things, contactless mobile phone payments, but also finds other uses in connectivity, such as unlocking the door or loading the menu in restaurant using the NFC tag. Basic connectivity standards also include Bluetooth 5.1, making it easy to communicate wirelessly with other devices such as headphones, tablets, speakers and smartwatches.