*If you found this video helpful please consider using the Thanks button above!* *Correction: I believe I erroneously said Duo 2 ran SD865, it is of course running SD888.* As noted in the video, this was finished right before the February 25th update. Luckily, My Duo 2 experience was already rock solid, so the only aspect of this video that needed changing was the bit about camera lag. For that reason I edited in a small bit to correct for that.
Hi Shane, stumbled on your profile when I was looking for some decent reviews & hands on info about Duo2. Haven't left since then haha! Your channel is by far one of the best, most honest, no nonsense ones I've came across! Thanks for the great informational videos and keep on rocking them! Greetings from Belgium!
Wow, it was only earlier today I was taking some photos with my Duo 2 when I started wishing the camera was faster. Just a few hours ago I'm house cleaning and I notice an update. I've noticed the touch sensitivity is improved but that's about it. While watching this I had no idea about the camera improvement until you mentioned it. Just tried it myself and... Wow. Way faster. My wish was answered 😂 Thank you for these videos man. You're informative videos are one of the main reasons I bought my Duo 2 about two or three weeks ago now and I absolutely love it. Oh, and the amount of attention it gets in every public place I use it is insane. No Samsung or iPhone would get this much attention!!
Thanks so much Shane for the work you put into your content. Loved the Surface 1 got the Z Fold 3 now I'm itching for the Duo 2. FOR ANYONE ON THIS CHANNEL THAT LIVES NEAR NC AND HAS A SURFACE DUO 2 I WILL TRADE MY UNLOCKED Z FOLD 3 AND NINTENDO SWITCH FOR IT. That's how impressive the DUO 2 is!
Shane it's been done made the trade for a 512gb Surface Duo 2 in black and I couldn't be happier! Gal that I got the Duo 2 from had a screen protector on all 4 sides of the Duo it's been sticking on quite lovely. Performance for my Duo has been without a skip of a beat but your 100 percent correct on the camera performance. Love your videos Shane keep up the excellent work!
Consistently at least once a day I get this feeling of "Wow" when I open it. It's just such a cool piece of technology. Like you said, it's hard to describe
thanks for the video! I'm looking forward to Microsoft to continue to work on the software and make it even better. My 2 weeks experience with the SD2 has been great so far
The camera on Duo1 got a similar performance boost. It's very snappy now. Can't compare quality of the pictures since I had given up on using it before. But what I'm seeing now is actually good during day time at least.
As much as I love with you I think I’m going to wait to pick it up till is at least $700 that price to performance is just not there for me personally… yet. Very excited to get one of these when they come down and price!
Hi I've also had mostly good experience with my duo 2 apart from screen unlocking itself when opening up device, done a factory reset and that was it fixed. Couple of small marks on the screen that do annoy me a bit just because I don't no how they got there since the phone does stay closed all the time when not using it. Been great, best phone tablet laptop thing I've had thanks mate
1:41 Mine look EXACTLY the same. It's where it scratches your pockets everytime you slip it in. And since I have white bumpers, mine also started to get like a green tint to it. Very disappointing for 40€ 7:30 My main focus are smartphone games that run semi-idle. So I usually have two games running at once (battery drains fast which is totally normal but I have a charger nearby when I do that) and both games run 60 FPS and smooth. But the phone gets hot very fast if you play two games AND charge (with fast-charge) it gets so hot that almost feels too hot to touch. The only bug that annoys me a lot if the discord app which keeps trying to move to the left screen. If it's only the right screen it flickers a lot until I switch it.
Yes my experience with duo 2 has be fantastic, up until this morning trying to watch TH-cam wile laying in bed, I kept getting UI errors and rotation errors and then it crashed and did seem to want to start up again, so I held the finger scanner button down for a long time and it Finley rebooted, going by my computer experience with when computers star golfing up is to remove apps, last in first out. that seemed to work. I didn't like the last installed app anyway. on a side note I found that my experience watching TH-cam through the EDGE browser is better than the TH-cam app. I had no issues rotating my duo2 with that, not sure I want to chance using the app now. besides it runs way better in the browser anyway. I find navigating with my surface pen 2 easer than with my finger, never imagined that would happen ..LOL
Thanks for another great video Shane! After daily driving the OG Duo, I finally was able to get the Duo 2. It is a more complete package than the Duo with the improved camera system and NFC. I like the ergonomics of the OG Duo better, but it is a fair trade off for the Duo 2's improvements. The OG Duo is still a compelling device even in 2022, but those added creature comforts of the Duo 2 make it a much more capable daily driver.
I use my Duo 2 in Nintendo DS mode ALOT and there's been a bug where the bottom part of the bottoms screen is blocked by a lingering black bar (and keyboard icon) whenever I go to type with a app. After this latest update that was actually fixed! I haven't really noticed touch issues either. So at this point I don't have any bugs (that I'm aware of) at this point. Now... if they could add a OFF option for the stupid swipe down to search "feature" that would be great...
Speaking as a person that is currently using a Samsung Galaxy fold 3... there are innumerable use cases for an android phone that has either a larger screen or two screens.
I had so many bugs with the DUO 2...crashing, restarting, not responding at all with the system.ui error... I hope this update will help.. Also my battery life is really not great but mine always have Bluetooth on, double screen on the train for 1h with work emails, spotify, streaming TV series... And still lagging on some big games like Genshin, Wild rift, Asphalt... Working well but not 100% if that make sense. So Im not your average user ^^. Camera is faster YES.. But the photo quality isnt my main criteria for a phone so I don't really have an opinion on it. Dbrand Skin is really good, thanks for the Tip Shane! What would be nice is if more app dev could produce double screen experience... maybe another video for you to talk about?
I've really enjoyed the Duo 2, and the updates have helped things get even better. Dual screens are AMAZING! However, I'm likely having to get mine replaced. There is a bug on my device that if I'm in dual screen mode, then fold the screen back to enter single screen mode, when I return to dual screen mode the top and bottom 3rds of the device to longer respond to touch until I turn the device off and then back on again. It is more of an annoyance than anything, and it took a while to figure out exactly what was going on. Factory resets even via recovery mode haven't fixed the issue, so I'm sure a replacement is the next step. I have the Pen Charging case (which I don't understand the magic behind....why can't the phone just do this without the case?) with pen, and have a PopSocket wallet attached so it replaces my leather wallet. I find myself paying with NFC most of the time, but when needed I can pull out a card or ID.
I love the Duo concept and I think its much butter than having one big display, I pre-ordered the Duo 1 and I really wished that it would be the best phone out there but as you know it was bad, then I got the Z fold 3 and was not happy with it, the outer screen is almost not usable and the big screen inside is not the thing you want for a phone. Just recently got a second hand Duo 2 from eBay (which is another option for every one) and I'm hopping that this time I will make it my main phone.
I've never held one, but I completely understand your passion for the SD2. I love the Surface Pro. I constantly use the pen with my Surface Pros and my Note 20 ultra. Big OneNote user. The aspect ratio on even one screen of the Surface Duo is way better than the aspect ratio on the Note. I was hoping the SD2 would have much better cameras, because camera quality on my phone is, along with pen capability, the top priority. So, I ordered the S22 Ultra. Hoping the SD3 steps it up on the cameras.
Is there any way to get a gcam app which has no network access at any time? I would check it out, but not if my photos are going to bounce off any Google servers. Not without their privacy policy being completely rewritten.
The google messenger web app sends RCS to those capable and SMS to the rest. lately I've been using the Your Phone app to text on my PC and it only sends SMS.
Very thorough as usual. I am glad the regular updates are making improvements. You mention using it in your car. Any issues with Android Auto? I've recently acquired the Motorola MA 1 wireless android auto gadget, so I don't need to plug my phone in every time I'm in the car (it works flawlessly with my S21). I'd want the Duo 2 to work with this device.
As much as I love the duo I think I’m going to wait to pick it up till is at least $700 that price to performance is just not there for me personally… yet. Very excited to get one of these when they come down and price!
@@shanecraigtech To me personally it’s running a 888 which is good but it will be 2 years old this coming year the 1500$ price tag for a almost 2 year old chip is a bit steep for my tastes. However it’s no slouch by any means I just feel like for 1500$ and for a device that will not get an update (physically) till 2023 I’d say it’s a good idea to hold off till it drops to the 700-800$ range just so if you get it at that price you won’t be super out of date for the price. Appreciate the reply!
This time round I'm skipping and getting the 1tb Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. I expected better Camera and Better battery. I will however be looking in ³-⁴ years to a next interation of Surface Duo. The spine notification area can be wildly better. Coming from a history of Nokia/Microsoft of handsets, MS can definitely do alot better. They could also look at a front screen. Also that pic preview took ages, can be alot faster. There needs to be more optimisation. All aside, great review and great content.
My camera is still very laggy, and not responsive...I take a pic and my son moves and it's blurry even though I tapped the button but takes a bit even in decent lighting. What update is this and how do I update the camera app?
I agree with a lot of this. My take.. - Battery is average at best. - No wireless charging is a major oversight - Camera is OK, not great. - there is a slight delay when answering a call Apart from the above, the Duo 2 is amazing! Love it. Software updates have improved the phone where it's basically bug free. Highly recommend the bumpers and dBrand skins but also the official MS cover that charges the pen.
I should have added, I had a Fold 3 user approach me to compare phones. There's no comparison. Premium feel, build quality, genuine multitasking over two screens.. Duo wins hands down
I love my Duo 2. So far, I've not had any bugs, since the February update. The January update seemed to cause my Duo 2 to have more screen freezes, but seemed to work its self out, for the most part. I hope the recent update keeps my Duo 2 running smoothly. I guess we'll see over the next month, before the next update release.
Good review. Glad you made this video of long term usage. I wish it had anything but Android. Can’t wait until Microsoft realize another potential of having 3rd OS for consumers which is secured and restrictive in its core for corporate level security. I will definitely buy it. Android security I don’t know if it’s stolen or anything. Peace of mind won’t be there
I love the SD2, especially after the update. I just have a question. How do you get past all the tracking software on gBoard? I installed and uninstalled it because I'm not comfortable with the app having complete access to my device. Also, I couldn't change the permissions. I am just being paranoid?
To be totally frank, this is how I see it. I'm using an Android phone, whatever data Google wants about how I use it, they're getting it regardless of what permissions my keyboard has.
Great video again, I'm still on the gen 1 at the moment which finally seems to be a lot more stable after the FEB update... One quick question, what weather widget are you using?
Great job, Shane! Spot on about the improvements in hardware and software with Duo 2. For my use case, which is primarily work/productivity centric, this has been a one of a kind product. Dual launching 2 apps is awesome. I use the Slim Pen 2 with the case and it is near perfect - the magnetic strength is incredible, really hard to get it to physically dislodge and when I'm on a Webex, Teams, Zoom etc session, I can take notes on the other screen. Can't do that easily with any other product. The new Feb update was great. Can't wait for Android 12L and what it will bring.
I have owned the original duo, z-fold 3 and the duo 2...The duo 2 is hands down my favorite device and as long as microsoft keeps on supporting it and brings us meaningful updates for the better I will be using this as my daily driver until the duo 3 comes out...You have hit the nail on the head with your assessments and unless you are a photographer and photography is your number 1 priority with a phone I highly recommend you give the duo 2 a try...
I have a comment may not be related to the video, but have anyone tried pocketbook reader on surface duo, This is the best reading app on surface duo specially when you use the 2 pages mode. I use it to read any pdf on my duo no matter what Really AMAZING app
I've enjoyed mine so far since I bought it last week. It's off to a really great start but they seriously need to unlock the full potential of the surface pen. It's difficult to imagine why the extra button still has no use, after all this time. Even if they simply updated onenote to activate the lasso tool like it does on windows, that alone would be a huge boost in usability. Aside from that, the rest of my experience with the Duo 2 has been fantastic. It has helped me at work (retail sales) with showing customers product info, not to mention it makes drawing diagrams or jotting down ideas a breeze.
Cool phone but way too many cons to rock this as a daily driver. Definitely an interesting piece of tech. The idea is there but the execution is poor imo.
Why not just buy a phone to do phone things? I have an iphone 12 pro max and it does everything that you just mentioned and does it much better. I don’t see myself carrying a phone that big around all day. I don’t need my phone to be a camera, I have a Canon M50 Mark II and a Sony a6400 that take care of my picture and video needs in my life, but if I need to capture something really quick, on the fly if you will then I can whip out my Iphone 12 Pro Max which is more than capable to capture it. The other thing is doing social media things like Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok which I never do, or watch a quick video on TH-cam or watch a really nice 4k movie, the iPhone 12 Pro Max has the screen real estate to cover that. if by chance I want more screen real estate then I can invest on a iPad which comes in many sizes and price range to meet my spontaneous needs, but for the most part I want my phone to just be a phone. As always just my thoughts P,S; I love being a Minimalist! 😉👍🇺🇸
"Why not just buy a phone to do phone things?" I don't know what phone things are, but I use my Duo like I used my other slab phones. I just happen to largely do two said tasks at a time on Duo. "I have an iphone 12 pro max and it does everything that you just mentioned and does it much better." Much of phone preference is subjective, but iPhone's absolutely do not do two simultaneous tasks at once better than a device with two screens. It's odd that your idea of minimalist is to have a phone, a camera and a tablet whereas my approach is to carry one dual screened device that can do anything I need. One definitely seems more minimal than the other to me. I'm glad you enjoy your iPhone and I'm not saying it's bad either. iPhone's are great, but they aren't for me any more than a PC with one monitor is something I'd feel productive on either, especially when compared to dual monitors. Duo allows my brain to work the way my brain wants to work and that's with two rapidly alternating flows.
Great job Shane. People don't know what they are missing.
*If you found this video helpful please consider using the Thanks button above!*
*Correction: I believe I erroneously said Duo 2 ran SD865, it is of course running SD888.*
As noted in the video, this was finished right before the February 25th update. Luckily, My Duo 2 experience was already rock solid, so the only aspect of this video that needed changing was the bit about camera lag. For that reason I edited in a small bit to correct for that.
Hi Shane, stumbled on your profile when I was looking for some decent reviews & hands on info about Duo2. Haven't left since then haha!
Your channel is by far one of the best, most honest, no nonsense ones I've came across! Thanks for the great informational videos and keep on rocking them!
Greetings from Belgium!
Thanks for that super nice comment
Wow, it was only earlier today I was taking some photos with my Duo 2 when I started wishing the camera was faster. Just a few hours ago I'm house cleaning and I notice an update. I've noticed the touch sensitivity is improved but that's about it. While watching this I had no idea about the camera improvement until you mentioned it. Just tried it myself and... Wow. Way faster. My wish was answered 😂 Thank you for these videos man. You're informative videos are one of the main reasons I bought my Duo 2 about two or three weeks ago now and I absolutely love it.
Oh, and the amount of attention it gets in every public place I use it is insane. No Samsung or iPhone would get this much attention!!
Please, do you use for calls? I I am really interested in that.
Loved it Shaun. After buying at launch and selling it . Ordered again tonight . Will be getting it soon . Very excited . Used your affiliate link :)
*Shane, but I won't hold that against you 😂 hope you love it the second time!
@@shanecraigtech haha iphone autocorrect lol for some reason . Sorry
Thanks so much Shane for the work you put into your content. Loved the Surface 1 got the Z Fold 3 now I'm itching for the Duo 2. FOR ANYONE ON THIS CHANNEL THAT LIVES NEAR NC AND HAS A SURFACE DUO 2 I WILL TRADE MY UNLOCKED Z FOLD 3 AND NINTENDO SWITCH FOR IT. That's how impressive the DUO 2 is!
Shane it's been done made the trade for a 512gb Surface Duo 2 in black and I couldn't be happier! Gal that I got the Duo 2 from had a screen protector on all 4 sides of the Duo it's been sticking on quite lovely. Performance for my Duo has been without a skip of a beat but your 100 percent correct on the camera performance. Love your videos Shane keep up the excellent work!
Consistently at least once a day I get this feeling of "Wow" when I open it. It's just such a cool piece of technology. Like you said, it's hard to describe
Thank you for the follow up and for your amazing work on this product
👍
Such a great device. I love mine! And I use it for work.
I dropped mine twice with no case or bumper guards and it has held up fine.
thanks for the video! I'm looking forward to Microsoft to continue to work on the software and make it even better. My 2 weeks experience with the SD2 has been great so far
The camera on Duo1 got a similar performance boost. It's very snappy now. Can't compare quality of the pictures since I had given up on using it before. But what I'm seeing now is actually good during day time at least.
It was a fair review as always! Thx for it
Greatest surface duo content on TH-cam!
As much as I love with you I think I’m going to wait to pick it up till is at least $700 that price to performance is just not there for me personally… yet. Very excited to get one of these when they come down and price!
A nice review! 👍
Hi I've also had mostly good experience with my duo 2 apart from screen unlocking itself when opening up device, done a factory reset and that was it fixed. Couple of small marks on the screen that do annoy me a bit just because I don't no how they got there since the phone does stay closed all the time when not using it. Been great, best phone tablet laptop thing I've had thanks mate
1:41 Mine look EXACTLY the same. It's where it scratches your pockets everytime you slip it in. And since I have white bumpers, mine also started to get like a green tint to it. Very disappointing for 40€
7:30 My main focus are smartphone games that run semi-idle. So I usually have two games running at once (battery drains fast which is totally normal but I have a charger nearby when I do that)
and both games run 60 FPS and smooth. But the phone gets hot very fast if you play two games AND charge (with fast-charge) it gets so hot that almost feels too hot to touch.
The only bug that annoys me a lot if the discord app which keeps trying to move to the left screen. If it's only the right screen it flickers a lot until I switch it.
Yes my experience with duo 2 has be fantastic, up until this morning trying to watch TH-cam wile laying in bed, I kept getting UI errors and rotation errors and then it crashed and did seem to want to start up again, so I held the finger scanner button down for a long time and it Finley rebooted, going by my computer experience with when computers star golfing up is to remove apps, last in first out. that seemed to work. I didn't like the last installed app anyway. on a side note I found that my experience watching TH-cam through the EDGE browser is better than the TH-cam app. I had no issues rotating my duo2 with that, not sure I want to chance using the app now. besides it runs way better in the browser anyway. I find navigating with my surface pen 2 easer than with my finger, never imagined that would happen ..LOL
Thanks for another great video Shane! After daily driving the OG Duo, I finally was able to get the Duo 2. It is a more complete package than the Duo with the improved camera system and NFC. I like the ergonomics of the OG Duo better, but it is a fair trade off for the Duo 2's improvements. The OG Duo is still a compelling device even in 2022, but those added creature comforts of the Duo 2 make it a much more capable daily driver.
The latest update has taken care of my touch issues...so far. I'll give it some time before I can say that it's fixed for sure.
What texture is the main part of the pen case bumper (white) please? Is it rubberised like the OG Duo bumper? Or plastic?
I use my Duo 2 in Nintendo DS mode ALOT and there's been a bug where the bottom part of the bottoms screen is blocked by a lingering black bar (and keyboard icon) whenever I go to type with a app. After this latest update that was actually fixed! I haven't really noticed touch issues either. So at this point I don't have any bugs (that I'm aware of) at this point.
Now... if they could add a OFF option for the stupid swipe down to search "feature" that would be great...
Speaking as a person that is currently using a Samsung Galaxy fold 3... there are innumerable use cases for an android phone that has either a larger screen or two screens.
Has anyone had any problems with the Bluetooth being low. During phone calls? When the person or I hang up my music is extremely loud.
I think the Nintendo ds xl protection cases would be a good protection for it
I had so many bugs with the DUO 2...crashing, restarting, not responding at all with the system.ui error... I hope this update will help.. Also my battery life is really not great but mine always have Bluetooth on, double screen on the train for 1h with work emails, spotify, streaming TV series... And still lagging on some big games like Genshin, Wild rift, Asphalt... Working well but not 100% if that make sense. So Im not your average user ^^. Camera is faster YES.. But the photo quality isnt my main criteria for a phone so I don't really have an opinion on it. Dbrand Skin is really good, thanks for the Tip Shane! What would be nice is if more app dev could produce double screen experience... maybe another video for you to talk about?
I've really enjoyed the Duo 2, and the updates have helped things get even better. Dual screens are AMAZING! However, I'm likely having to get mine replaced. There is a bug on my device that if I'm in dual screen mode, then fold the screen back to enter single screen mode, when I return to dual screen mode the top and bottom 3rds of the device to longer respond to touch until I turn the device off and then back on again. It is more of an annoyance than anything, and it took a while to figure out exactly what was going on. Factory resets even via recovery mode haven't fixed the issue, so I'm sure a replacement is the next step. I have the Pen Charging case (which I don't understand the magic behind....why can't the phone just do this without the case?) with pen, and have a PopSocket wallet attached so it replaces my leather wallet. I find myself paying with NFC most of the time, but when needed I can pull out a card or ID.
Great video.. nicely edited!!
Thanks
Still waiting for that Duo 2 sale.🥺 I don’t think it’ll come though. Otherwise, great vid as always! I always appreciate the content.
I love the Duo concept and I think its much butter than having one big display, I pre-ordered the Duo 1 and I really wished that it would be the best phone out there but as you know it was bad, then I got the Z fold 3 and was not happy with it, the outer screen is almost not usable and the big screen inside is not the thing you want for a phone. Just recently got a second hand Duo 2 from eBay (which is another option for every one) and I'm hopping that this time I will make it my main phone.
We only see the pic sample at 1080P so may look bad to us lol.
Hey Shane, FYI, Best Buy has the Duo 2 on sale now!
Thanks!
Mine as a MAJOR scratch on the left screen after I think I laid it down in phone mode.
I'm super paranoid about that, so anytime I need to set the thing down it gets closed first.
I've never held one, but I completely understand your passion for the SD2. I love the Surface Pro. I constantly use the pen with my Surface Pros and my Note 20 ultra. Big OneNote user. The aspect ratio on even one screen of the Surface Duo is way better than the aspect ratio on the Note. I was hoping the SD2 would have much better cameras, because camera quality on my phone is, along with pen capability, the top priority. So, I ordered the S22 Ultra. Hoping the SD3 steps it up on the cameras.
Is there any way to get a gcam app which has no network access at any time? I would check it out, but not if my photos are going to bounce off any Google servers. Not without their privacy policy being completely rewritten.
Do you use the web browser for google messenger? Doesn’t send sms then from your computer.
The google messenger web app sends RCS to those capable and SMS to the rest. lately I've been using the Your Phone app to text on my PC and it only sends SMS.
February Update is unreal. Fixed lots of stability issues and camera is faaaaast!
Very thorough as usual. I am glad the regular updates are making improvements. You mention using it in your car. Any issues with Android Auto? I've recently acquired the Motorola MA 1 wireless android auto gadget, so I don't need to plug my phone in every time I'm in the car (it works flawlessly with my S21). I'd want the Duo 2 to work with this device.
My car is a 2013 Toyota GT86. No AA here to test 😂
As much as I love the duo I think I’m going to wait to pick it up till is at least $700 that price to performance is just not there for me personally… yet. Very excited to get one of these when they come down and price!
Gotta do what's right for you. What sort of performance do you feel it's lacking in though? Just curious.
@@shanecraigtech To me personally it’s running a 888 which is good but it will be 2 years old this coming year the 1500$ price tag for a almost 2 year old chip is a bit steep for my tastes. However it’s no slouch by any means I just feel like for 1500$ and for a device that will not get an update (physically) till 2023 I’d say it’s a good idea to hold off till it drops to the 700-800$ range just so if you get it at that price you won’t be super out of date for the price. Appreciate the reply!
This time round I'm skipping and getting the 1tb Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. I expected better Camera and Better battery. I will however be looking in ³-⁴ years to a next interation of Surface Duo. The spine notification area can be wildly better. Coming from a history of Nokia/Microsoft of handsets, MS can definitely do alot better. They could also look at a front screen. Also that pic preview took ages, can be alot faster. There needs to be more optimisation.
All aside, great review and great content.
The whole point of a larger camera sensor is for greater resolution to allow cropping.
My camera is still very laggy, and not responsive...I take a pic and my son moves and it's blurry even though I tapped the button but takes a bit even in decent lighting. What update is this and how do I update the camera app?
This was recorded after the most recent system update. Settings - system - system update. You might also try resetting the camera app.
I agree with a lot of this. My take..
- Battery is average at best.
- No wireless charging is a major oversight
- Camera is OK, not great.
- there is a slight delay when answering a call
Apart from the above, the Duo 2 is amazing! Love it. Software updates have improved the phone where it's basically bug free.
Highly recommend the bumpers and dBrand skins but also the official MS cover that charges the pen.
I should have added, I had a Fold 3 user approach me to compare phones. There's no comparison. Premium feel, build quality, genuine multitasking over two screens.. Duo wins hands down
I really wish there was wireless charging but obviously not a deal breaker
Dope man so dope
I love my Duo 2. So far, I've not had any bugs, since the February update. The January update seemed to cause my Duo 2 to have more screen freezes, but seemed to work its self out, for the most part. I hope the recent update keeps my Duo 2 running smoothly. I guess we'll see over the next month, before the next update release.
Good review. Glad you made this video of long term usage. I wish it had anything but Android. Can’t wait until Microsoft realize another potential of having 3rd OS for consumers which is secured and restrictive in its core for corporate level security. I will definitely buy it. Android security I don’t know if it’s stolen or anything. Peace of mind won’t be there
Well. Microsoft had their own phone OS and it was great but it hardly had any apps and I think that is the main reason it failed.
I love the SD2, especially after the update. I just have a question. How do you get past all the tracking software on gBoard? I installed and uninstalled it because I'm not comfortable with the app having complete access to my device. Also, I couldn't change the permissions. I am just being paranoid?
To be totally frank, this is how I see it. I'm using an Android phone, whatever data Google wants about how I use it, they're getting it regardless of what permissions my keyboard has.
@@shanecraigtech That makes sense. Thank you! 😊
Great video again, I'm still on the gen 1 at the moment which finally seems to be a lot more stable after the FEB update... One quick question, what weather widget are you using?
Overdrop!
Great job, Shane! Spot on about the improvements in hardware and software with Duo 2. For my use case, which is primarily work/productivity centric, this has been a one of a kind product. Dual launching 2 apps is awesome. I use the Slim Pen 2 with the case and it is near perfect - the magnetic strength is incredible, really hard to get it to physically dislodge and when I'm on a Webex, Teams, Zoom etc session, I can take notes on the other screen. Can't do that easily with any other product. The new Feb update was great. Can't wait for Android 12L and what it will bring.
Glad you're still enjoying it!
I have owned the original duo, z-fold 3 and the duo 2...The duo 2 is hands down my favorite device and as long as microsoft keeps on supporting it and brings us meaningful updates for the better I will be using this as my daily driver until the duo 3 comes out...You have hit the nail on the head with your assessments and unless you are a photographer and photography is your number 1 priority with a phone I highly recommend you give the duo 2 a try...
Great video
Shane, your video convinced me to buy one. I’m getting away from Apple
Hope you like it!
Does it have voice to text capability?
Yep. Virtually any keyboard you use can.
Is there any dou 3 news ?
Negative
Have you tried gcam camera app?
Made several videos on it
Dude my corners top and bottom have the same exact problems.
The new update messed up the 2 screens
I have a comment may not be related to the video, but have anyone tried pocketbook reader on surface duo,
This is the best reading app on surface duo specially when you use the 2 pages mode.
I use it to read any pdf on my duo no matter what
Really AMAZING app
Good find!
Thanks, hope you can mention it in one of your future videos so others can benefit
i'm seriously getting bored of using iphones for the past three years. im thinking of selling my iphone 13 pro for this
I’m thinking the exact same thing!
I've enjoyed mine so far since I bought it last week. It's off to a really great start but they seriously need to unlock the full potential of the surface pen. It's difficult to imagine why the extra button still has no use, after all this time. Even if they simply updated onenote to activate the lasso tool like it does on windows, that alone would be a huge boost in usability. Aside from that, the rest of my experience with the Duo 2 has been fantastic. It has helped me at work (retail sales) with showing customers product info, not to mention it makes drawing diagrams or jotting down ideas a breeze.
They're definitely got a long way to go to get the full potential out of their pen, but it sounds like the intend to add a lot more functionality.
The perfect 3ds emulation device.
Is it running android???
Yes
I like.
your phone app is best thing about android/windows
Cool phone but way too many cons to rock this as a daily driver. Definitely an interesting piece of tech. The idea is there but the execution is poor imo.
What are the cons you're seeing?
My duo screen has scratches
It's definitely possible to scratch the thing, just not something I've had issues with as of yet.
@@shanecraigtech i left it open in a backpack once, and the scratched area is larger than a quarter.
Why not just buy a phone to do phone things? I have an iphone 12 pro max and it does everything that you just mentioned and does it much better. I don’t see myself carrying a phone that big around all day. I don’t need my phone to be a camera, I have a Canon M50 Mark II and a Sony a6400 that take care of my picture and video needs in my life, but if I need to capture something really quick, on the fly if you will then I can whip out my Iphone 12 Pro Max which is more than capable to capture it. The other thing is doing social media things like Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok which I never do, or watch a quick video on TH-cam or watch a really nice 4k movie, the iPhone 12 Pro Max has the screen real estate to cover that. if by chance I want more screen real estate then I can invest on a iPad which comes in many sizes and price range to meet my spontaneous needs, but for the most part I want my phone to just be a phone. As always just my thoughts
P,S; I love being a Minimalist! 😉👍🇺🇸
"Why not just buy a phone to do phone things?"
I don't know what phone things are, but I use my Duo like I used my other slab phones. I just happen to largely do two said tasks at a time on Duo.
"I have an iphone 12 pro max and it does everything that you just mentioned and does it much better."
Much of phone preference is subjective, but iPhone's absolutely do not do two simultaneous tasks at once better than a device with two screens.
It's odd that your idea of minimalist is to have a phone, a camera and a tablet whereas my approach is to carry one dual screened device that can do anything I need. One definitely seems more minimal than the other to me. I'm glad you enjoy your iPhone and I'm not saying it's bad either. iPhone's are great, but they aren't for me any more than a PC with one monitor is something I'd feel productive on either, especially when compared to dual monitors.
Duo allows my brain to work the way my brain wants to work and that's with two rapidly alternating flows.
Totally agree, until you've used a Duo you will not really get it.
I would compare my battery life to the same as my iPhone 12 pro
duo is good
I complain on the android store all the time those coders need some work to do
🤟🤟
Too bad its not available in the asian region.
It's been two fold..... I see what you did there 😏
4 months long term??? Hhuuuuuuhhhhhj???