I don't want to sound negative (and have to admit I don't represent the whole population) so if this appeals to you, can you explain to me why please ?
As much as I dream of the day where you will be able to just change your screen size on a whim, we don't have the tech yet.
And it seems to me that if you need more screen estate, you will just get a tablet, not an hybrid ?
The problems for me: 1. It runs android. While I hope that MSFT will support it into the future, I fear if it flops that the dual screen setup and support is going to dwindle over time.
2. No pen slot. This is a huge fail IMO - one of the main ways I would want to use this is as a small digital notebook. Having to carry a surface pen separately kind of sucks.
3. No external display. I know they are already pushing it price wise, but even just a small OLED strip would suffice, to let you see a notification without having to unfold the device to see what it is. Missing this makes me think this will be a terrible phone - to know who is calling you now have to take it out of your pocket, open it, then choose what to do.
The problem is I think the $400 iPad Mini likely outclasses this device in terms of software and performance.
I'm definitely interested, though of course I'm not 100% sure it'll fit my needs until I actually try it for a week. The pricing is also iffy. I'm not sure I'm willing to give such an expensive device a try, especially with Microsoft's poor record when it comes to QA on their Surface line in general.
The universal feedback I've seen from peers who are considering the pre-order is: I can stop carrying around an iPad.
$1399 replaces an ipad and a phone for them. Time will tell if the usability matches their expectations.
For that reason, seeing Marc Levoy calling it quit at Google makes me pessimistic for the next pixels.
to be fair the 4 was already a bit underwhelming in that area (flagship level camera but unlike the previous generations it did not really push the enveloppe).
I just gave it a quick DDG, and it looks like that still means my only option is iPhones (or 3rd-party apps on Android, but I am very skeptical the experience & results with those would be anywhere near as good).
Android has been having this for a pretty long while as well, at least on pixel. Off the top of my head, no idea if this applies to the whole ecosystem (might be pixel only, might be google camera only (so that would apply to any phone where you can install this app) or it might even be a pixel feature but tons of OEMs have already duplicated it (that's not exactly a recent feature so I would not be surprised)
I'm less interested in the productivity side of things, but this looks great for entertainment. I don't like reading ebooks on a phone-sized screen, which wouldn't be an issue. This could also be pretty neat for light gaming with Steam Link/Xbox Gamepass/Moonlight. I'm currently in a situation where I'm able to work remotely for a while, but I'm not going to bring my desktop with me if I spend a week at a cabin in the wilderness.
At this price it's not quite worth it for me, but hopefully the Surface Duo does well and dual screen devices get a bit cheaper and add in features I care about like wireless charging
As a phone, it stands out. The giant screen that fits in your pocket is a neat gimmick. It stakes out some potentially influential space on the ground between "phone" and "computer", where market expectations haven't been fully established yet. It costs around as much as other elite phones. "Surface Phone" could have been a great shot into the cutting edge phone market.
As a Surface, it's on a different OS and won't run the same software. It gives up peripherals, ports, and screen real estate. Adding a keyboard would make the Duo less practical as a mobile computer than a Surface with the tidy keyboard option. It costs as much as far more powerful Surfaces, but at least it fits in your pocket?
They seem to think people use the phone has a handset without headphones/speaker, which is a bit strange.