The Surface Duo is on sale in the UK now. Microsoft‘s dual-screen Android phone comes to these shores more than 16 months after it was first announced and five months after going on sale in the US. It represents the company’s first foray into smartphones since the ill-fated Windows Phone era, although there are concerns the now-outdated hardware will hold it back.
Alongside the UK, the Surface Duo also arrives in France, Germany, Canada today. Here’s all you need to know about getting one for yourself.
How much does the Surface Duo cost?
At launch, the Surface Duo is available to buy for £1,349/€1,549. That gets you a model with 128GB of storage, although it’s not clear whether the 256GB version will be available.
In the US, you’ll now only pay $999.99 for the 128GB version and $1,099.99 for the 256GB model. Both have seen $400 discounts on the original launch price. Canadian pricing is yet to be revealed.
Considering the disparity between UK and US pricing, it’s worth considering importing the device if at all possible.
Where to buy the Surface Duo in the UK
The Surface Duo goes on sale today in the UK via the Microsoft Store and Currys PC World. We’ll update this page as soon as the product listing pages are available.
However, an earlier Windows Latest article suggested BT and EE were ‘working with Microsoft on a deal’ to sell the Duo. That would open up the possibility of the device being available on contract, but it’s not the case at launch.
In addition to the Microsoft Store, the Duo will also be available via FNAC and Darty in France, while Saturn and MediaMarkt are the go-to retailers in Germany.
What is the Surface Duo?
The Surface Duo is Microsoft’s very first foldable. It’s a dual-screen device, consisting of two 5.6in displays that can fold in on one another. The Duo is the first ever Microsoft device to run Android, although it’s been customised to have a more Windows-like look and feel. Some developers have optimised their apps to run across both screens, but more still need to be updated.
Microsoft doesn’t explicitly describe the Surface Duo as a smartphone, but the presence of a SIM card tray and advertised calling functionality puts in that category of devices.
Read more in our in-depth guide to the Surface Duo. Interested in what its successor might bring? We have a separate article running through all the rumours for the Surface Duo 2 so far.