Wild Microsoft Surface Duo appears on a Vancouver SkyTrain passenger

Flexible displays have not exactly made a great first impression last year with Samsung’s Galaxy Fold debacle, but, as the technology matures, we are likely to see more companies trying their hand at foldable devices. Before experimenting with flexible displays, though, Microsoft intends to release a device that combines 2 separate displays that can act as one with the upcoming Surface Duo phablet, and see if there is meat on the bone for this type of devices in the mobile market. The Surface Duo was announced last fall and is expected to launch in the second half of 2020. However, the device appears to have been spotted on a Microsoft employee riding the Vancouver SkyTrain, so it might actually launch sooner than expected.

What we see in the picture snapped by Twiiter user @yzraeu (Israel Rodriguez) is most likely a pre-production model that is now seeded to select Microsoft employees in order to test out features. The interesting thing about this particular model is that it looks a bit thinner than the one showcased in the promotional video, plus it also features a frontal LED flash that was not there before. This suggests that the Surface Duo may not integrate any rear camera setups at all.

It is true that we already have selfie cams sporting 32 MP sensors, but we cannot be entirely certain that Microsoft is to include anything like this, which means that the Surface Duo might unfortunately not focus too much on imaging features. Then again, we cannot really see the back of the test sample and Microsoft could surprise us with at least one camera on the back. Rodriguez claims he has more pics and even videos of the Surface Duo in the wild, maybe he can shed some more light?