Microsoft announces a foldable Surface smartphone

Foldable screens seem to be the new thing within the world of smartphones. The most famous one is of course the Samsung Galaxy Fold, but there's also Huawei Mate X, with both LG and Motorola also confirming that they are working on foldable smartphones. Now another competitor has entered the ring, and it's a somewhat surprising one.

During Microsoft's dedicated Surface event yesterday, they announced the Surface Duo, and unlike other Surface products, this is an Android. It has two screens at 5.6", and Microsoft promises that it will have all the apps and features you would expect from a Surface unit. As you've likely figured out, the two screens can be used side-by-side to get one big screen, or separately for a more traditional smartphone functionality.

We got to see how it can be used for several different purposes, and there is also a foldable keyboard being released for it, which basically transforms the Surface Duo to a mini-computer with Android. Microsoft has already shared examples on how it can be used for gaming, unsurprisingly, and it might be a safe bet to say that we'll get to see more smartphone games from Xbox Game Studios in the future. Of course it'll also run the streaming service xCloud.

The Surface Duo launches late next year, and Microsoft will use the time until then to get several apps specially made for the unit in time for the release, both from themselves and third-party companies.

What do you think of Surface Duo from what we've seen so far?