Surface Duo 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 spec battle

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by Surur Davids 

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With the Surface Duo 2, Microsoft finally delivered a competitive folding smartphone, and the main competition is of course the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3.

In the specs comparison below we can see how the two devices stack up.

  Surface Duo 2 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3
Dimensions Open: 145.2 x 184.5  x 5.50 mm

Closed: 145.2 x 92.1  x 11.0 mm

 Open: 158.2 x 128.1 x 6.4 mm

Closed: 158.2 x 67.1 x 14.4-16 mm
Display
  • Dual PixelSense™ Fusion Displays open: 8.3” AMOLED, 2688×1892
  • Single PixelSense™ Screen: 5.8” AMOLED 1344×1892 (13:9)
  • 401 PPI
  • HDR
  • Wide color 100% SRGB, DCI-P3
  • Dual displays with 90Hz adaptive refresh rate
  • 800 nits max brightness
  • Display Material: Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus™
  • Type            Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1200 nits (peak)
  • Size     7.6 inches, 179.9 cm2 (~88.8% screen-to-body ratio)
  • Resolution            1768 x 2208 pixels (~374 ppi density)
  • Cover display:
  • Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
  • 6.2 inches, 832 x 2268 pixels, 25:9 ratio
Battery capacity
  • 4449mAh (typical) dual battery
  • 4340mAh (minimum) dual battery
  • Li-Po 4400 mAh, non-removable
Camera and video recording Dynamic triple lens rear-facing camera:

  • Wide: 12MP, f/1.7 aperture, 27 mm, 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF and OIS
  • Telephoto:12MP, f/2.4 aperture, 51 mm, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS and 2X optical zoom
  • Ultra-Wide:16MP, f/2.2 aperture, 13 mm, 1.0µm, 110o diagonal field of view with distortion correction

Front-facing Camera:

  • 12MP, f/2.0, 24 mm,1.0µm
  • Flash: Dual led – dual color flash

Video recording:

  • HDR Video
  • 4K video recording at 30 fps and 60 fps
  • 1080p video recording at 30 fps and 60 fps
  • Slow motion video at 120 or 240fps
  • HEVC and H.264 video recording formats
 Triple  12 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.76″, 1.8µm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS

12 MP, f/2.4, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.6″, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom

12 MP, f/2.2, 123?, 12mm (ultrawide), 1.12µm

Features           LED flash, HDR, panorama

Video  4K@60fps, 1080p@60/240fps (gyro-EIS), 720p@960fps (gyro-EIS), HDR10+

Front-facing Camera:       Single  4 MP, f/1.8, 2.0µm, under display

Cover camera:

10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3″, 1.22µm

Features           HDR

Video  4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS
Network and connectivity
  • Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax (2.4/5GHz)
  • Bluetooth: Bluetooth® 5.1
  • NFC for payments and provisioning
  • WCDMA: 1,2,5,8
  • GSM/GPRS: GSM-850, E-GSM-900, DCS-1800, PCS-1900
  • Location: GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou, QZSS
  • GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE / 5G
  • WLAN            Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
  • Bluetooth            5.2, A2DP, LE, aptX HD
  • GPS     Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
  • NFC    Yes
  • Radio   No
Processor Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 888 5G Mobile Platform Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm)
Storage and memory
  • 128GB, 256GB, 512GB
  • 8GB DRAM LPDDR5 memory
  • 256GB 12GB RAM
  • 512GB 12GB RAM
  • UFS 3.1
Software
  • Operating System: Android™ 11
 Android 11, One UI 3.1.1
Security and authentication
  • Biometric lock type: Fingerprint reader with enterprise grade security
  • Lock type: Swipe, PIN, password
  • Security applications pre-loaded on device: Microsoft Authenticator
  • Fingerprint (side-mounted)
Sensors
  • Dual Accelerometer
  • Dual Gyroscope
  • Dual Magnetometer
  • Dual Ambient Light Sensor
  • Dual Proximity Sensor
  • Hall Sensor
  • Fingerprint Sensor
  • accelerometer
  • gyro
  • proximity
  • compass
  • barometer
Weight 284 grams 271 g (9.56 oz)
Battery life
  • Up to 15.5 hours of Local Video Playback
  • Up to 28 hours of Talk Time
  • 34 hours talk time
Battery charging Fast Charging available using the Microsoft Surface 23W USB-C Power Supply11
  • Fast charging 25W
  • Fast wireless charging 11W
  • Reverse wireless charging 4.5W
SIM One eSIM11 and one Nano SIM Nano-SIM and eSIM
Connections
  • USB-C® 3.2 Gen 2
  • Unlocked for all carriers
  • USB    USB Type-C 3.2
Audio
  • Stereo speaker, Dual Mic AI-based noise suppression and acoustic echo cancellation optimized for productive use in all postures
  • Best-in -class Full Duplex communication for voice calls in hands free mode, receiver and LRA
  • Qualcomm® aptX™ Classic, HD and TWS
  • Hearing aid compatibility: M4/T3
  • Wake on Voice using Google Assistant
  • Loudspeaker Yes, with stereo speakers
  • 32-bit/384kHz audio
    Tuned by AKG
Exterior
  • Exterior Material: Corning® Gorilla® Glass
  • Color: Glacier, Obsidian
  • Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
Pen and inking
  • Supports all in-market generations of Surface Slim Pen, Surface Pen, and Surface Hub 2 Pen8
  • Simultaneous Pen and touch are supported
  • S-Pen
Water resistance IPX8 water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins)
Price
  • $1499
  • $1,799.99

The Surface Duo 2 has a number of wins, but has obvious deficits such as the lack of a cover display and no support for wireless charging. The Z Fold 3 is likely also a more durable device, but you pay $300 for that advantage.

Which handset do our readers think comes out ahead? Let us know below.

Surur Davids

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Smartphone Expert

Surur Davids is the founder of WMPoweruser which later became MSPoweruser.com. He's a smartphone expert with over a decade of experience.

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