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Microsoft Needs to Execute on its Dual-Panel App Software to Make the Duo a Success
Microsoft must embrace the user experience so that manipulating the dual-screens is as easy as possible, including making the UI feel fast and fluid, with natural gestures that make moving content one from display to the other feel intuitive. Android needs to be optimized by Microsoft for dual-screens to work. Being able to "pick up" an object on the screen and move it across the center bezel is a super important aspect that makes the Surface Duo's form factor much more approachable. The software working in the background is designed to deliver the best experience to the user. When folding the screens, it needs to know which screen is being used in phone mode, it also needs to remember what was on the other screen to facilitate returning to dual-screen mode. Apps need to flow around the center bezel when spanning across both displays. All apps can span, but only a handful of them will be built to flow around the bezel. Microsoft's first-party apps need to support spanning at least.
Figure 1: Microsoft Duo
Microsoft must embrace the user experience so that manipulating the dual-screens is as easy as possible, including making the UI feel fast and fluid, with natural gestures that make moving content one from display to the other feel intuitive. Android needs to be optimized by Microsoft for dual-screens to work. Being able to "pick up" an object on the screen and move it across the center bezel is a super important aspect that makes the Surface Duo's form factor much more approachable. The software working in the background is designed to deliver the best experience to the user. When folding the screens, it needs to know which screen is being used in phone mode, it also needs to remember what was on the other screen to facilitate returning to dual-screen mode. Apps need to flow around the center bezel when spanning across both displays. All apps can span, but only a handful of them will be built to flow around the bezel. Microsoft's first-party apps need to support spanning at least.
Figure 1: Microsoft Duo
If the user experience feels clunky or unfinished at any point its problem for this device. It should be intuitive to do something when in dual-screen mode, and not worry about what the device is going to do when folding it into single-screen mode. It should just work as expected, and flow naturally at every opportunity.
The gestures, sounds, animations, fluidity, and everything in-between are all equally important for this form factor. Microsoft is customizing Android for dual-screens, and to deliver an experience that makes sense on Surface Duo. Hopefully, the software isn't super buggy at launch. Any bugs that could possibly get in the way of the user experience, including issues with determining which orientation the device is being used in, could be a big problem for the flow of the device, and give off a bad first impression, something Microsoft needs to avoid.
The gestures, sounds, animations, fluidity, and everything in-between are all equally important for this form factor. Microsoft is customizing Android for dual-screens, and to deliver an experience that makes sense on Surface Duo. Hopefully, the software isn't super buggy at launch. Any bugs that could possibly get in the way of the user experience, including issues with determining which orientation the device is being used in, could be a big problem for the flow of the device, and give off a bad first impression, something Microsoft needs to avoid.