Microsoft announced in a blog today that its dual-screen phone, the Surface Duo, will get an “improved” TikTok app that takes advantage of the design. The company also announced that the Duo will be available outside the US in early 2021.
When The edge Reviewing the Surface Duo, we liked the hardware of the device but were concerned about the custom Android software. The Duo was buggy at release and didn’t include many non-Microsoft apps that took advantage of the dual screen setup. The Surface Duo can run normal Android phone apps on both screens, but using the split screen features designed by Microsoft requires specific customization.
The group of apps utilizing Microsoft’s “postures” and multitasking features remains small, but TikTok is an important addition to social media.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22172811/TikTok_SurfaceDuo.jpg)
The company says that TikTok will use both screens on the Duo, so you can view the “For You” feed on one screen, while browsing hashtags and searching for videos on the other. Microsoft highlighted the Spotify and Kindle apps when the Duo launched, but TikTok is one of the largest apps to have added full support since then. (Microsoft itself tried to acquire ByteDance’s business earlier this year.)
In addition to the new app, Microsoft says the Surface Duo will go on sale in Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom in early 2021. The company says they will have more to share ‘in early 2021’. so expect a more specific release date or maybe even an update on the Duo’s bigger sibling, the Surface Neo, in the future.
The “improved” TikTok app should now be available to Duo owners.