Check out Microsoft’s new Surface Duo ad
On Friday, Microsoft released a new 60-second television ad for the device titled “A new way to get things done.” The commercial, which you’ll probably see when viewing sporting events on TV this weekend, highlights several features of the Surface Duo including the fact that it runs all Android apps. Yup, there is no “app gap” with this Microsoft handset. After all, the death of Windows Phone was very much due to the fact that the platform’s app storefront had shelves as empty as the ones inside the local Piggly Wiggly the day before a hurricane. With the Surface Duo in your hands, you can run two apps side-by-side and even create pre-selected pairs of two related apps that automatically load side-by-side with the tap of one icon.
As we’ve pointed out, for $1,399.99 you don’t get the latest chipset, nor is the phone 5G capable. And while Microsoft’s advertisements like to show how the Surface Duo works with all of the currently available generations of the Surface Slim Pen, Surface Pen, and Surface Hub 2 Pen, you’ll go nuts trying to find one of these in the box. That’s because purchasing one of the digital writing instruments for the phone is optional. For example, the Surface Slim Pen will cost you an additional $111.14 at the Microsoft Store.
The commercial also points out that you can drag and drop between apps and even play Xbox together while apart. Holding the Surface Duo in landscape, the top screen can show the game display while the bottom screen streams live video of your opponent. And the hinge allows you to create different modes such as tablet mode, tent mode, compose mode, book mode, and peek mode. You can find the one that makes watching streaming video or doing other tasks more comfortable for you.