With the holiday 2020 release of the Surface Duo coming ever so near, more information about the much-anticipated Microsoft smartphone is becoming apparent through leaks. In the latest, video courtesy of Twitter user @h0x0d shows how you’ll apparently be able to use the folding action on the Surface Duo to your advantage to peek at notifications and calls on the device while on the go.
Peek pic.twitter.com/vnawzLrf6k
— WalkingCat (@h0x0d) February 26, 2020
Seen above, pulling the top screen of the Surface Duo partly open will offer a small peek at notifications on the right-hand side of the second internal screen. The video also shows how Microsoft has adapted the Android lock screen to the format of the Surface Duo. Likely for privacy, when the screen is left open in this mode, it has a small view of the system clock on the top of the screen in the corner. There are also mini notification tiles that can be dismissed with a swipe.
It is being suggested by @h0x0d that this feature could go by the name of “Peek,” but a separate video also shows how this could be used for calls, too. When a call is incoming, you will get a peek of it on the corner of the screen as you initially fold the device open. You’ll then be able to accept the call and answer it to bring it full screen as you fold the device to a 180-degree orientation.
Interestingly enough, the Surface Duo in the leaked video does also have a specific date and time on the screen throughout. It is labeled with June 18, 2020, with the time 6:18. It is known that Microsoft will be holding a hardware event sometime this spring and this has caused some publications to suggest this could perhaps be a launch date for the device.
However, that is best to be taken lightly. Microsoft is still in the process of helping developers code apps for the Surface Duo and has promised the device won’t be ready until the holiday season. There has been an instance where the Surface Duo was spotted in the wild, though, so there could perhaps be hope a release might be coming sooner rather than later.