Microsoft’s foldable Surface Duo price drops to $ 999, arrives in Europe next week

Microsoft is dropping the price of its foldable Surface Duo device to $ 999 and launching it in Europe and Canada next week. The Surface Duo will be available in the UK, France, Germany and Canada on February 18. This is the first time that the dual-screen Surface Duo has been available outside of the United States for both businesses and consumers. Priced at £ 1,349 in the UK, the Surface Duo will be available on the Microsoft Store in the UK and retailer Currys PC World.

The Surface Duo will also launch in Canada, France and Germany on February 18. The device will be priced at 1,549 euros in Germany. Microsoft first launched the Surface Duo in the United States in September 2020, and it took the company about five months to complete an international version.

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

The drop in price from $ 400 to $ 999 certainly makes it a more affordable device, but when we reviewed the Surface Duo last year, we praised the hardware and found that the buggy-modified version of Android sometimes made it difficult to use. The device also lacked many non-Microsoft apps that took advantage of the dual displays. TikTok was one of the bigger third-party apps that was updated specifically for the Surface Duo last year, but there still aren’t enough apps to take advantage of this unique hardware.

While Microsoft has promised monthly updates for the Surface Duo, the company did not provide an update in December. The updates haven’t done enough to improve the software experience of using the Surface Duo, despite its obvious potential.

Update February 11 at 10 a.m. ET: Article updated with details of Surface Duo launch in other markets and US pricing update.