Microsoft’s folding Surface Duo price drops to $ 999, arriving 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. It is the first time that the Surface Duo with two screens has been available outside the US, for both businesses and consumers. Priced from £ 1,349 in the UK, the Surface Duo will be available from the Microsoft Store in the UK and Currys PC World store.

The Surface Duo will also launch in Canada, France and Germany on February 18. The device costs 1,549 euros in Germany. Microsoft first launched the Surface Duo in the US in September 2020, and it took about five months to complete an international release.

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

The price drop 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 made it difficult to use at times. The device was also missing many non-Microsoft apps that took advantage of the dual screens. TikTok was one of the larger third-party apps that was updated specifically for the Surface Duo last year, but there are still not enough apps that take advantage of this unique hardware.

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

Update, Feb. 11, 10:00 AM ET: Article updated with Surface Duo launch details in other markets and updated US pricing.