Microsoft's Surface Duo 2 Rumored To Fix These Major Shortcomings Of Its Predecessor

The inevitable Surface Duo 2 is on the way, and a couple of job listings on Microsoft's careers website give us some insight into what to expect for the smartphone. A job listing for "SW/FW Engineer II" says that the "Microsoft Devices Software team is on a journey to create new experiences with Surface Duo." The listing goes to reveal that the employee will work within a team tasks with "designing and coding RF drivers, RF board bring up including LTE and 5G."

5G has been the smartphone industry's buzzword for the past two years, even though accessing higher speeds that the wireless standard provides is elusive for most users. But 5G networks are improving every day, and Microsoft would be remiss if it left 5G off the Surface Duo 2. 

Considering that the Surface Duo 2 would be Microsoft's flagship smartphone, we'd imagine that it'd come rocking at least a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, which is paired with a Snapdragon X60 5G modem.

One other area where the original Surface Duo lacked compared to its competition was its generally subpar single rear camera. However, another Microsoft job listing, which Windows Latest unearthed, reveals that the company is looking to implement "computational photography and AI/ML algorithms" in its next-generation camera subsystem. "You will help define the camera architecture and work with partners and algorithm development engineers in the development of deep learning and AI features."

Since it looks as though Microsoft is addressing its 5G and camera shortcomings, we'd like to throw in our wish list as well. We'd like to see maximum onboard RAM doubled to 12GB. We also would prefer to see the dual 5.6-inch (1800x1350) displays bumped up to perhaps 6 inches to minimize the relatively large bezels.

If Microsoft sticks to its usual release timetable for its Surface devices, we should see the Surface Duo 2 arrive in late Summer or early Fall 2021.