Shipments to customers could start in last week of August

Aug 9, 2020 05:49 GMT  ·  By

We’ve known for a while that Microsoft planned to launch the Surface Duo in August but without any specifics available, everybody expected the software giant to come out with an announcement all out of the blue.

Now it looks like this out of the blue moment is next week, as according to Microsoft watcher Paul Thurrott, the software giant has invited a series of MVPs to a virtual event next week on August 12.

And it’s believed this event could be specifically dedicated to the Surface Duo, with the company to present the Android device before an official announcement is made public.

As for when the actual sales of the Surface Duo are supposed to start, this is likely to happen in the last week of August, according to people familiar with the matter. Most likely, once the Redmond-based software releases the official launch announcement, customers will be allowed to pre-order the Surface Duo ahead of the start of shipments later this month.

Premium price tag

New press renders that have been published online by leaker Evan Blass show an AT&T version of the Surface Duo, and the photos do reveal additional details about the software side of the device.

For example, it looks like the default search engine on the Duo is actually Google and not Microsoft’s very own Bing, albeit there’s a very good chance users would be encouraged to switch after setting up the device.

Of course, there are plenty of Microsoft apps that come pre-loaded on the Surface Duo, and Microsoft Launcher will power the Android experience on the home screen.

The pricing information remains the most important tidbit that remains to be discovered, especially as the Surface Duo is expected to be a rather expensive device. Many believe the base model is very likely to surpass the $1,000 threshold, but we’ll find out everything in just a few days.

Photo Gallery (3 Images)

Microsoft Surface Duo
Microsoft Surface DuoMicrosoft Surface Duo
Open gallery