Should I wait for the Surface Duo or switch now and get a random Android phone

[Iarus Surai]

Hello Windows Central.

I've been using a Windows Phone since the first days of of WP7 and to this day I'm still using my HP Elite x3. I don't care about having thousands of apps on my phone and I don't know what whatsapp, telegram or that new tiktok thing are. While winning the game of life for being the last id-iot on earth to use a WP device sounds really cool!! I'm starting to feel left out.

I've never used an iOS or Android phone.

Comes the Surface Duo, our savior! Instead of the old boring black pane of plastic or glass, it's TWO shiny panes of glass!!! It's fresh, futuristic, different enough than other phones, has a new paradigm for apps and overall phone usage, it's cool and shiny and I'm a masochist for Microsoft products.

What should I do?

1. Stick with my Windows Phone until the Surface Duo is released.

Pros:

- I'm lazy and this allows me to not make a decision until the release.
- I don't have to spend any money on a temporary phone while waiting on the Duo.​

Cons:

- My phone has died 4 times during the last year, then miraculously resurrected itself. It might blow up at any moment, can I risk not having a phone while I wait for the Duo?
- We know almost nothing about the Duo, I think it looks awesome, but come holydays 2020 it might suck. Dual screens with a cool hinge, crappy camera? battery life? performance? more than 5 apps that support the new dual screens paradigm? I might be waiting a long time for a device that might not be really good.​

2. Give a Viking funeral to my WP, then buy a cheap Android phone while I wait for for the Duo.

Pros:

- I get to switch to Android "early" and see if I like the OS before buying the potentially overpriced Duo.​

Cons:

- I have to buy a thing I don't really want while I wait for the thing I really want. That feels wrong te me, I'm a cheap b*****d.
- If I buy a cheap but new phone, I'll probably be stuck on a 2 years contract, which sounds annoying.
- Again, we don't know if the Duo will be any good. If I decide not to buy the Duo, I'll be stuck with a crappy old Android phone I don't really want.​

3. Viking funeral, buy a good Android phone, skip the Surface Duo and wait for version 2.

Pros:

- The new phone will be a real purchase, not some "in between" thing.
- Version 1 of things are usually not that great. Might as well wait for next gen.​

Cons:

- Fear of missing out.
- Microsoft, and every other companies out there, cancel products all the time. We might never get a Duo 2.
- MWC is at the end of the month, I might wait to see if anything cool gets announced or released.​

4. Buy an axe, a hammer, a box of nails, fill my car with fuel and beer, bring my fishing cane, then drive north until I run out of gas, build a tiny cabin and live there forever.

Pros:

- F*** phones, F*** technology!
- Now that's the life!​

Cons:

- No running water, no toilets.
- No electricity, no internet.
- I'll run out of beer faster than I planned.
- I'm a crappy fisherman, don't know how to hunt or differentiate between the good and bad mushrooms.​

 

[Laura Knotek]

Is your current device meeting your needs, or are you experiencing problems due to lack of apps or lack of stability? If you cannot tolerate bugs or missing apps, then I would suggest getting a new Android device. Also, keep in mind that the Duo will not be cheap. You will be able to get a current Android device that is midrange to high end for a lower price now.

I've been using Android for almost 5 years now, and I've never experienced any issues with it. All the apps I need are available and work well. I've used devices from Moto, LG and Samsung.

 

[tgp]

I think you have put plenty of drama to this "dilemma"! :wink: It is not a big deal. Just decide how much you can spend, buy a new phone based on that, and use it. It is rather simple. This problem can be solved in less time than you spent writing this post.

There are some things to consider about the Duo. The Duo is currently slated for release around the end of 2020. Who knows how that will go? Also, will it need some time after release to be refined? Will the price rule it out for you? Will it possibly be canceled and never see the light of day? These are all questions that cannot be answered now. I would recommend getting a decent Android phone that you can use for a couple years. Assuming the Duo is released later this year, it might be beneficial to wait a year to buy it anyway.

I would leave the Duo out of the equation for right now. We have no idea how this whole thing is going to spin out. Ignore it when making the decision facing you right now. Worry about it later.

 

[TechFreak1]

1) You're not the only one that is still using a WM10 lol - still use a 950XL myself.

2) You can buy a cheap android phone off amazon for about 40 bucks but the experience will be what you pay for you.

3) If you have to use WM10 phone, you'd be better of getting a 950XL off ebay and spend as little as possible in getting one. Personally I wouldn't recommend it however it's your money.

4) Living in a multiplatform household, I can tell you each platform has it's pros and cons - many of which are already widely documented.

Also you have the option of Sailfish by Jolla if you want alternative to ios and android - which according to Jolla's website can run android apps. I'm not sure how well as I'm not that familiar with the o/s, others who have experience with the o/s would be best placed to answer that question.

 

[ochhanz]

Hello Windows Central.

I've been using a Windows Phone since the first days of of WP7 and to this day I'm still using my HP Elite x3. I don't care about having thousands of apps on my phone and I don't know what whatsapp, telegram or that new tiktok thing are. While winning the game of life for being the last id-iot on earth to use a WP device sounds really cool!! I'm starting to feel left out

, if you don't use stuff like whatsapp keep your HP Elite x3. Iirc the HP Elite x3 is a highend phone and if you want similar hardware experience that will mean forking out quite a bit of money. Probably not worth it in your case.

ps: I also still use a 950 XL next to my Nokia android phone.
Android is a more mature OS but WP feels more intuitive and clearer to me, those settings in Android (especially privacy and power saving) are are all over the place.

 

[dlalonde]

Hello Windows Central.

I've been using a Windows Phone since the first days of of WP7 and to this day I'm still using my HP Elite x3. I don't care about having thousands of apps on my phone and I don't know what whatsapp, telegram or that new tiktok thing are. While winning the game of life for being the last id-iot on earth to use a WP device sounds really cool!! I'm starting to feel left out.

I've never used an iOS or Android phone.

Comes the Surface Duo, our savior! Instead of the old boring black pane of plastic or glass, it's TWO shiny panes of glass!!! It's fresh, futuristic, different enough than other phones, has a new paradigm for apps and overall phone usage, it's cool and shiny and I'm a masochist for Microsoft products.

What should I do?

1. Stick with my Windows Phone until the Surface Duo is released.

Pros:

- I'm lazy and this allows me to not make a decision until the release.
- I don't have to spend any money on a temporary phone while waiting on the Duo.​

Cons:

- My phone has died 4 times during the last year, then miraculously resurrected itself. It might blow up at any moment, can I risk not having a phone while I wait for the Duo?
- We know almost nothing about the Duo, I think it looks awesome, but come holydays 2020 it might suck. Dual screens with a cool hinge, crappy camera? battery life? performance? more than 5 apps that support the new dual screens paradigm? I might be waiting a long time for a device that might not be really good.​

2. Give a Viking funeral to my WP, then buy a cheap Android phone while I wait for for the Duo.

Pros:

- I get to switch to Android "early" and see if I like the OS before buying the potentially overpriced Duo.​

Cons:

- I have to buy a thing I don't really want while I wait for the thing I really want. That feels wrong te me, I'm a cheap b*****d.
- If I buy a cheap but new phone, I'll probably be stuck on a 2 years contract, which sounds annoying.
- Again, we don't know if the Duo will be any good. If I decide not to buy the Duo, I'll be stuck with a crappy old Android phone I don't really want.​

3. Viking funeral, buy a good Android phone, skip the Surface Duo and wait for version 2.

Pros:

- The new phone will be a real purchase, not some "in between" thing.
- Version 1 of things are usually not that great. Might as well wait for next gen.​

Cons:

- Fear of missing out.
- Microsoft, and every other companies out there, cancel products all the time. We might never get a Duo 2.
- MWC is at the end of the month, I might wait to see if anything cool gets announced or released.​

4. Buy an axe, a hammer, a box of nails, fill my car with fuel and beer, bring my fishing cane, then drive north until I run out of gas, build a tiny cabin and live there forever.

Pros:

- F*** phones, F*** technology!
- Now that's the life!​

Cons:

- No running water, no toilets.
- No electricity, no internet.
- I'll run out of beer faster than I planned.
- I'm a crappy fisherman, don't know how to hunt or differentiate between the good and bad mushrooms.​

@Laura Knotek is usually a voice of reason around here.

Honestly the Surface Duo looks very cool but is aimed at business users and will be expensive and I don't think many developers will adapt their apps for that screen given the way it works and that just streching the app is not enough as it would be with the Samsung Fold. In other words, if you're a regular user I would just get a good mid-range or an older flagship (or a current flagship if your budget allows it).

If you're looking for more Microsoft integration, you can look at Samsung devices which have more and more. You could also go with a Motorola if software updates don't matter to you (unless you go with a Moto One device which is basically stock Android). Nokia phones are a pretty good choice too but they're not available everywhere.

 

[Ryujingt3]

I would like a new Android phone, but I am hanging on now for the Duo!

 

[Nayden]

Since my first smartphone was an WP, and before that I was using only Nokia, I am still keeping the Lumia 950 as a second phone as well as I gave a chance to the android Nokia 7 plus (the reborn one and midrange priced) thus eliminated the app gap issue. And waiting to see what will happen

 

[Adam Frix]

And the news just came out that Duo may launch as early as April instead of waiting for "holidays 2020". So there's that.

Seriously, just get a cheap Android phone and put the MS Launcher on it and all the MS apps, and go about your day. That'll give you some idea. You're rocking a high end phone but you're doing things that today don't require NEARLY what a current high end phone is.

Get a Samsung A series phone for $250 or less.

 

[etphoto]

I was waiting for the Duo (eventhough my Galaxy S8 is still working properly). However, hearing about some of the stats idk now. No 5G and an older processor to boot. If I am going to pay that much I want to be using this phone for several. 5G isn't really around that much yet but what about two years from now and my Duo can't take advantage.

 

[Dan12R]

There's rumors that the Duo might come out early but until we have an official announcement, it's hard to plan. I do think it's safe to say that it will release in 2020, early 2021 at the latest.

With that said, still having faith that Microsoft would release another phone, I ran into this same dilemma early last year. My 950XL was having all sorts of issues. It had quite a few miles on it. I did what I could (replaced the battery) but it wasn't meeting my needs anymore from a stability and reliability standpoint. I was hesitant to buy the latest and greatest Android because if Microsoft announced the Surface phone the next day, I would have been angry. But if that ship never came, I didn't want to live with a budget phone for the next couple of years. I ended up getting a OnePlus 6T. This ended up being a good middle ground. If Microsoft didn't announce a Surface phone, I wasn't stuck with a budget device. If they did, I didn't sink $1000 in a phone that I wouldn't have for a year.

I would suggest a similar approach in your situation. If your Elite x3 is running fine, stick with it until it dies. That way if we do get an early release, say June or July, you didn't waste a bunch of money on a new phone. However, I would recommend doing some research into a cheaper phone that could serve you for the time being should your Elite x3 kick the bucket and the Duo is delayed to say March 2021. I'm seeing the OnePlus 6T going for $350 and it's decent phone. Even if you step up to the 7T, that's only $500. Find the balance between not being terribly upset should you spend that money only to find out the Duo is coming out a week later and also a device that you won't hate if you're stuck using it for a year. That point is going to be different for everyone. What that point is for you is what matters though. It's important to find this point now though because should you wake up next week to a completely dead Elite x3, you'll already have a plan in place and you won't have to rush your research.

 

[naddy6969]

"I've never used an iOS or Android phone."

Then why do you want the Duo? Its an Android tablet with a small battery and a crappy camera. It is aimed at business users, not consumers.

Assuming it actually gets released.

My advice is to just get a new phone. Life is too short put up with the POS you have now.

"I'm starting to feel left out."

Yeah, I know the feeling. But I felt that way 4 years ago. Sold my 950XL and bought a Samsung S6. A year later I got an S7 Edge. Never got used to Android, it all just seemed so primitive and clumsy.

So I sold the Samsungs and moved on to Apple. Currently have a 256GB 8 Plus. Very nice. In a few months I will get a newer one, probably a 10S Max.

Again, life is too short to put up with crappy phones. When you finally get a new phone, you will wonder "Why did I wait so long?".