The Surface Duo may have found its calling

For Microsoft, the Surface Duo is the ultimate productivity device, but it turns out it is uniquely suited for a rather more entertaining application.

The good folks at InputMag have discovered that the device makes a great platform for emulated retro games, which benefit from the generous proportions of each screen, and of course the ability to have the controls on one screen and the game on the other, and having those at two different angles.

With a simple app like RetroArch, I was able to turn the Surface Duo into an SNES, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo 64, and PlayStation 1. In the case of the DS, the Duo’s two screens is a match made in heaven.

Do I even need to say anything more than Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 — the greatest skateboarding video game of all time — on Surface Duo?

They managed to get a number of other emulators to work with pretty good performance, even though they reported some heating issues due to the slim design.

The Surface Duo is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC, a 6GB of RAM and 128/256 GB of storage. The device has two AMOLED 5.6-inch screens with a resolution of 1800 x 1350 and 401 dpi, Microsoft is calling it 8.1″ PixelSense Fusion display. Microsoft has included a 3,460 mAh battery to power the hardware. The main highlight of the device is its 360-degree hinge, allowing you to use each 5.6″ display individually or together, across a variety of modes. Also, the Surface Duo only comes with a single 11mp camera. The device runs on Android 10 with Microsoft Launcher as the UI, with Microsoft reportedly working on an Android 11 update soon after launch.

You can now order Surface Duo from Microsoft Store starting at $1399 and read more about running emulators on the device at InputMag here.