Surface Duo Dev: Do One Better with Dual Screens!
Tags: surfaceduodev, beginners, android, reactnative
Published: 2020-09-08 23:34:46

---
title: Surface Duo Dev: Do One Better with Dual Screens!
published: true
description: An introduction to the Surface Duo for developers. And the first post in a series focused on develoment tutorials, resources and content for mobile devs.
tags: surfaceduodev, beginners, android, reactnative
series: "Surface Duo Development: Dual-Screen, Multi-posture, Multi-platform"
cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/6iu9lux1ujolrxiigk2t.jpeg
---

> Found this interesting? Three calls to action:
> 1. [Subscribe to the Surface Duo Blog](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/surface-duo/?WT.mc_id=surfaceduodev-blog-ninarasi)

> 2. [Read about Creating Apps for Dual Screen](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dual-screen/?WT.mc_id=surfaceduodev-blog-ninarasi)

> 3. [Subscribe to the surfaceduodev tag](https://dev.to/t/surfaceduodev)

> Also bookmark our [Azure For Mobile Developers](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/developer/mobile-apps/?WT.mc_id=surfaceduodev-blog-ninarasi) page for the most recent resources and documentation.

---

On Aug 14, 2020 I logged into Twitter and saw this tweet. Saying that I was excited is an understatment. 

{% twitter 1294345756376088576 %}

Launch day was nearly here and soon we would all be able to get hands-on experience with developing mobile apps for the Microsoft Surface Duo!

---

## What is the Surface Duo?

The Surface Duo is a dual-screen Android-powered mobile device from Microsoft. You can read its [technical specifications](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/devices/surface-duo) but at it's core, it is about three things:

 * _Dual Screens_ which allow you to view two apps at once, side-by-side, potentially giving you new ways to explore mobile user experiences.
 * _Microsoft 365 + Android_ giving you core productivity apps alongside the large Android app ecosystem of the Play store.
 * _Multiple Modes_ thanks to a unique 360-degree hinge which allows the device to be used in open mode (like a paper), flipped (into tent or laptop modes), or folded (for phone-like portrait or landscape modes).

## Why does it matter?

I had worked with mobile devices for over a decade at Motorola Research. And watching the launch felt like coming full circle and revisiting ideas for mobile user experiences that support multi-tasking (for productivity) or created unique multi-screen experiences (for context). And because this is an Android device, you can actually _build_ applications for it, using any available mobile framework - from native applications (using Kotlin or Java) to cross-platform development (using Flutter or React-Native) to exploring mobile web support (including progressive web apps) using the mobile Edge browser.

## What is the vision behind the Surface Duo?

Watch the video below and you get a real sense of the passion and purpose that went into this launch, from the key members of the product team.

{% youtube R1CNwBzYqRs %}

Or scan my sketchnote for a quick summary!

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/mklrgq5euisd5r6lxpk5.jpeg)


## Next steps for developers!

The purpose of this post is to kickstart a series of articles that will share relevant resources, tutorials and learnings over the next few weeks and months. If you are a mobile or web developer interested in exploring app development for the Surface Duo, here are 3 actions to take right now: 

1. [Subscribe to the Surface Duo Blog](https://devblogs.microsoft.com/surface-duo/?WT.mc_id=surfaceduodev-blog-ninarasi) - this is a blog maintained by the Surface Duo team and has excellent articles (with code) for building apps using various frameworks from React Native to Xamarin, Flutter - and Kotlin!

2. [Read about Creating Apps for Dual Screen](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dual-screen/?WT.mc_id=surfaceduodev-blog-ninarasi) - this is the best place to start if you want to understand the design affordances of the device and get your development environment setup!

3. [Subscribe to the surfaceduodev tag](https://dev.to/t/surfaceduodev) on dev.to - we will be publishing articles and tutorials - and providing early alerts around relevant events, people or projects that can help you extend your understanding.


Have specific questions or comments? Leave them below and I would love to answer them. And of course, in case you missed it -- I am a member of the Microsoft Cloud Advocacy team and my focus is on mobile development. Want to catch up on all things related to Cloud + AI? Follow the Azure publication right here on dev.to

{% org azure %}

Until the next post - keep those emulators running!