Microsoft Surface Duo spotted in the wild — and we thought it was a tiny white purse

(Image credit: Microsoft)

The Microsoft Surface Duo dazzled us as it shape-shifted in the wild in a leaked video last month. Now we're seeing another glimpse of the sleek, foldable device and it's so slim and compact that we thought it was a tiny white purse.

The pre-production model of the Microsoft Surface Duo was spotted on the desk of Frank Shaw, Microsoft's corporate vice president of communication. He was showing off his new home office when eagle-eyed Twitter users discovered the Surface Duo sitting on top of his Surface Book.

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Emphasis on the word "eagle-eyed" because, at first glance, I thought it was a tiny white purse. The Microsoft Surface Duo placed atop the Surface laptop gives us some perspective on its miniature footprint, which validates Microsoft's claim that the dual-screen device "fits in your pocket."

So far, we know that the Surface Duo features two 5.6-inch screens that can run two different apps simultaneously. The shape-shifting tablet can rotate on a 360-degree hinge to transform into an 8.3-inch tablet. Although the device can make calls, Microsoft Chief Product Officer Panos Panay doesn't want you to call it a phone.

“You’re going to talk about it as a phone, and I get that,” Panay said last October. “You’re going to talk about it as a communication device, and it does both those things incredibly well. But make no mistake, this product is a Surface.”

Rumor has it that the Surface Duo will stand out of the crowd with a cool "sneaky" feature, which seemingly lets users slightly open the device in a book-like manner to take a peek at who's calling. If you approve the call, you can open the Surface Duo all the way to accept it.

With working samples being spotted in the wild, the final production model might be right around the corner. In fact, Microsoft might even launch earlier than the original Holiday 2020 schedule and ship the phone this summer.

Kimberly Gedeon

Kimberly Gedeon, holding a Master's degree in International Journalism, launched her career as a journalist for MadameNoire's business beat in 2013. She loved translating stuffy stories about the economy, personal finance and investing into digestible, easy-to-understand, entertaining stories for young women of color. During her time on the business beat, she discovered her passion for tech as she dove into articles about tech entrepreneurship, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the latest tablets. After eight years of freelancing, dabbling in a myriad of beats, she's finally found a home at Laptop Mag that accepts her as the crypto-addicted, virtual reality-loving, investing-focused, tech-fascinated nerd she is. Woot!