Microsoft is lowering the price of its Surface Duo folding device to $ 999 and launching it in Europe and Canada next week. Surface Duo will be available in the UK, France, Germany and Canada on February 18. It is the first time that the dual-screen Surface Duo is available outside the United States, for businesses and consumers. Priced from £ 1,349 in the UK, the Surface Duo will be available from the Microsoft Store in the UK and retailer Currys PC World.
The Surface Duo will also launch in Canada, France and Germany on February 18. The device will be priced at 1,549 euros in Germany. Microsoft first launched the Surface Duo in the United States in September 2020 and it took about five months for the company to complete an international launch.
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The price drop from $ 400 to $ 999 certainly makes it a more affordable device, but when we looked at the Surface Duo last year we praised the hardware and found that the bug-modified version of Android made it difficult to use at times. The device also lacked many non-Microsoft applications that took advantage of dual screens. TikTok was one of the biggest third-party apps that was updated specifically for the Surface Duo last year, but there are still not enough apps that take advantage of this unique hardware.
Although Microsoft promised monthly updates for the Surface Duo, the company did not deliver an update in December. The updates did not do enough to improve the software experience of using the Surface Duo, despite its obvious potential.
Update, February 11, at 10 am ET: Updated article with details of launching the Surface Duo in other markets and updated prices in the USA.