Microsoft’s Surface Neo has already been through an overview
video, official teasers and comparison with the Surface Duo,
and now the inside look of the dual-screen has been revealed in
a hardware teardown courtesy of Chinese users.
Surface Neo was unveiled in October 2019 at an event where the
company announced its plan to focus on dual-screen products. At
the same event, Microsoft announced Windows 10X, a new version
of the desktop operating system designed for dual-screen
devices, such as the Neo and Lenovo ThinkPad Fold.
It’s been one and half a year since the last big Surface event
and Surface Neo is still missing. While Microsoft has
officially confirmed that Windows 10X is now being optimized
for single-screen PCs, there’s no word on the future of Surface
Neo.
It’s clear that it’s been delayed. In fact,
Microsoft has already pulled the Surface Neo product
listing from the official website. A few months after the
product listing was removed,
Microsoft also pulled the Surface Neo teasers from its YouTube
channel, with a Microsoft spokesperson saying:
We do not have any updates to share at this time.
Now, a new video of the dual-screen prototype has appeared
online and it has revealed several internal components that
confirm many of the specifications that Microsoft already
announced in 2019, including split battery design.
Overall, Surface Neo has multiple component boards that fit
tightly inside a thin form factor.
In the actual Surface Neo, there’s a lot of stuff under the
hood, which includes two batteries and an Intel processor, but
no 5G. Other components are also split across both sides and
Microsoft is using ribbon cables to connect the two sides of
the dual-screen hardware.
According to the leaker, the Surface Neo has been cancelled,
which is not the case.
The product hasn’t been cancelled yet and it has only been
delayed indefinitely. Microsoft hasn’t publicly said Neo is
dead, but the company confirmed it’s pausing the development of
the device.
With Surface Duo and the
upcoming Surface Duo 2, Microsoft wants to test the water
and understand the requirements of the consumer base before
going bold with Windows 10X-powered Surface Neo.
It’s also likely that Surface Neo will undergo major changes in
the next 6-12 months.
Surface Neo has two nine-inch displays and it supports
360-degree rotation, thanks to the hinge. According to leaked
benchmarks, Surface Neo has been tested with Intel’s Lakefield
chip and delayed version of Windows 10X.
