Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS vs. Microsoft Surface Duo

Phone Comparison, Reviews and Tests

In depth comparison and review of Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS and Microsoft Surface Duo. Compare sizes, cameras, batteries, memory, and other important specifications and features to easily choose the right phone for you. Our goal is to help you uncover differences between the products and find the phone that will best fit your needs.

Phone Specifications Comparison

Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS vs. Microsoft Surface Duo Comparison Chart
DESIGN AND DIMENSIONS Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS Microsoft Surface Duo
Product Type Smartphone Smartphone
Manufacturer Model Number SM-N950F/DS -
Form Factor Touch Folder - dual screen
Height 162.5 mm 145.2 mm Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS has greater height than Microsoft Surface Duo.
Width 74.8 mm 93.3 mm Microsoft Surface Duo has greater width than Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS.
Depth 8.6 mm 9.9 mm Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS is narrower than Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS.
Weight 195 g 250 g Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS is lighter than Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS.
Dimensions Details - Unfolded - 186.9 mm x 4.8 mm x 145.2 mm
Body Colour Midnight black Glacier
Protection Dustproof, splashproof, waterproof -
Waterproof (Water-resistant) Yes - Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS is waterproof.
IP rating IP68 -
SAR Value 1.29 W/kg (body), 0.173 W/kg (head) 0.726 W/kg (head), 1.478 W/kg (body)
Integrated Components Heart rate sensor -
Connector Type USB Type-C - 24 pin USB-C
Headset jack - mini-phone 3.5mm
USB Type-C - 24 pin USB-C
SIM Card Type (Size) Nano SIM Nano SIM, Electronic SIM card (e-SIM)
SIM Card Qty Dual-SIM (SIM1 and SIM2/MicroSD slots) Dual-SIM
SIM Card Configuration Details Nano SIM + nano SIM/microSD -
DISPLAY Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS Microsoft Surface Duo
Display Type OLED display OLED display
Display Technology Quad HD+ Super AMOLED AMOLED
Foldable Display - Yes
Display Design - Both directions folding
Screen Size (Display Size) 6.3" 5.6" Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS has larger screen size than Microsoft Surface Duo.
Screen Resolution (Display Resolution) 2960 x 1440 pixels 1800 x 1350 pixels Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS has better screen resolution than Microsoft Surface Duo.
Pixel Density 521 ppi 401 ppi Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS has better pixel density than Microsoft Surface Duo.
Aspect Ratio - 4:3
Colour Depth 16.7 million colours -
Display Features Always-on display PixelSense Fusion Displays
Display Protection (Screen Protector) - Corning Gorilla Glass (scratch resistant glass)
SECOND DISPLAY
Second Display Type - OLED display - colour
Second Display Screen Size - 5.6"
Second Display Resolution - 1800 x 1350 pixels
UNFOLDED DISPLAY
Unfolded Display Screen Size - 8.1 in
Unfolded Display Resolution - 2700 x 1800 pixels
PROCESSOR Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS Microsoft Surface Duo
Processor Type (CPU) Samsung Exynos Qualcomm Snapdragon 855
Processor Number 8895 -
Clock Speed 2.3 GHz -
Processor Core Qty 8-core 8-core Both phones have the same number of phone cores.
64-bit Architecture Yes - Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS has 64-bit architecture.
Graphics System (GPU) Mali-G71 MP20 -
MEMORY Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS Microsoft Surface Duo
RAM LPDDR4 SDRAM - 6 GB 6 GB Both phones have the same RAM size.
Internal Memory Size (Storage Capacity) 64 GB 128 GB Microsoft Surface Duo has more internal memory than Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS.
User Memory 51.2 GB -
Memory Interface - UFS 3.0
Supported Flash Memory Cards (Expandable Memory) microSDHC, microSDXC - up to 256 GB -
CAMERA Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS Microsoft Surface Duo
MAIN CAMERA
Number of Main Cameras 2 0
Sensor Resolution 12 Megapixel -
Sensor Size 1/2.55" -
Lens Type Wide-angle lens -
Lens Aperture F/1.7 -
Lens Construction 6-element -
Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS) Optical Image Stabiliser (OIS) - Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS has optical stabilisation.
Focus Adjustment Automatic, manual -
Optical Zoom 2x -
Digital Zoom 10x -
Self-Timer Delay Yes -
Special Effects Motion effect, HDR, Stamp, Bokeh effect, Grid Line, Stickers -
Camera Modes Panorama, Slow motion mode, Pro mode, Timer mode, Virtual Shot, HYPERLAPSE, Food mode -
Face Recognition (Face ID) Face detection - Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS has face detection.
White Balance Custom, automatic -
Light Source LED light -
Video Resolutions 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 30 fps, 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 60 fps, 1280 x 720 (720p) at 30 fps, Slo-mo video 1280 x 720 (720p) at 240 fps, 3840 x 2160 (4K) at 30 fps -
Camera Features (Functions) Selective Focus, Quick Launch, Playback zoom, Tracking Focus, Dual Pixel technology, Motion photo, Exposure, Shutter speed, geotagging, RAW image capture, VDIS (Video Digital Image Stabilisation) -
SECOND CAMERA
Sensor Resolution (2nd Camera) 12 Megapixel -
Lens Type (2nd Camera) Telephoto lens -
Lens Aperture (2nd Camera) F/2.4 -
FRONT CAMERA
Number of Front Cameras 1 1
Sensor Resolution (Front) 8 Megapixel 11 Megapixel Microsoft Surface Duo has better front camera resolution than Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS.
Sensor Size (Front) 1/3.6" -
Sensor Type (Front) CMOS -
Lens Type (Front) Wide-angle lens -
Lens Aperture (Front) F/1.7 F/2.0 Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS has better front lens aperture than Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS.
Field of View (Front) - 84 degree(s)
Pixel Size (Front) - 1 μm
Focus Adjustment Automatic -
Special Effects (Front) - HDR
Camera Modes (Front) Wide selfie mode Burst mode, Panorama, low-light shots, Portrait mode with adjustable depth control
Light Source (Front) - High CRI LED flash
Video Resolutions (Front) - 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 30 fps, 1920 x 1080 (1080p) at 60 fps, 3840 x 2160 (4K) at 30 fps, 3840 x 2160 (4K) at 60 fps
Camera Features (Front) Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) Phase Detect Auto-Focus (PDAF), FOV optimised with AI (for front and rear), dynamic range scene detection, Super-resolution zoom, super zoom up to 7x, gyro-based digital video stabilisation
BATTERY AND CHARGING Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS Microsoft Surface Duo
Battery Capacity (Battery Size) 3300 mAh 3577 mAh Microsoft Surface Duo has larger battery capacity than Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS.
Wireless Charging Yes - Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS can be charged wirelessly.
Wireless Charging Standards WPC, PMA -
Standby Time - 240 hours
Talk Time 1320 minutes 1620 minutes Microsoft Surface Duo has longer battery life when making calls than Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS.
Run Time Details Talk (3G): up to 1320 min
Active online usage (3G): up to 12 hrs
Active online usage (4G): up to 13 hrs
Active online usage (Wi-Fi): up to 14 hrs
Playback (audio (Always On Display On)): up to 47 hrs
Playback (audio (Always On Display Off)): up to 74 hrs
Playback (video): up to 16 hrs
Standby: up to 240 hrs
Talk: up to 1620 min
Playback (local video): up to 15.5 hrs
CELLULAR Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS Microsoft Surface Duo
Technology TD-SCDMA / WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM WCDMA (UMTS) / GSM
Mobile Broadband Generation 4G 4G Both phones have the same mobile network generation.
Operating System Android 7.1.1 Nougat Android 10
Intelligent Assistant Bixby Google Assistant
Payment Technology Samsung Pay -
Navigation GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS
COMMUNICATIONS Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS Microsoft Surface Duo
Data Transmission GPRS, EDGE, HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, FDD-LTE, TDD-LTE GPRS, FDD-LTE, TDD-LTE, LAA
2G Band 850 GSM, 900 GSM, 1800 GSM, 1900 GSM 850 GSM, 900 GSM, 1800 GSM, 1900 GSM
3G UMTS Band Band 1, Band 2, Band 4, Band 5, Band 8 Band 1, Band 2, Band 5, Band 8
3G UMTS Frequency 2100, 1900, 1700, 850, 900 2100, 1900, 850, 900
4G LTE Band Band 1, Band 2, Band 3, Band 4, Band 5, Band 7, Band 8, Band 12, Band 13, Band 17, Band 18, Band 19, Band 20, Band 25, Band 26, Band 28, Band 32, Band 38, Band 39, Band 40, Band 41, Band 66 Band 1, Band 2, Band 3, Band 4, Band 5, Band 7, Band 8, Band 12, Band 13, Band 14, Band 19, Band 20, Band 25, Band 26, Band 28, Band 29, Band 30, Band 38, Band 39, Band 40, Band 41, Band 46, Band 66
4G LTE Frequency FDD 2100, FDD 1900 PCS, FDD 1800+, FDD 1700 - 2110 AWS, FDD 850, FDD 2600, FDD 900, FDD 700a, FDD 700c, FDD 700b, FDD 800 lower, FDD 800 upper, FDD 800 DD, FDD 1900+, FDD 850+, FDD 700 APT, FDD 1500 L, TDD 2600, TDD 1900, TDD 2300, TDD 2500, FDD 1700 - 2110 AWS-3 FDD 2100, FDD 1900 PCS, FDD 1800+, FDD 1700 - 2110 AWS, FDD 850, FDD 2600, FDD 900, FDD 700a, FDD 700c, FDD 700 PS, FDD 800 upper, FDD 800 DD, FDD 1900+, FDD 850+, FDD 700 APT, FDD 700d, FDD 2300 WCS, TDD 2600, TDD 1900, TDD 2300, TDD 2500, TDD 5150, FDD 1700 - 2110 AWS-3
Wireless Interface IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, ANT+/ANT IEEE 802.11ac
Bluetooth Bluetooth 5.0 LE Bluetooth 5.0
NFC Yes - Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS has NFC reader for mobile payments.
Messaging Services SMS, MMS -
MEDIA Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS Microsoft Surface Duo
Supported Digital Audio Standards WAV, WMA, PCM, AMR, MP3, FLAC, XMF, OGG, MIDI, M4A, apt-X, DSF, DSD, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DFF, MID WAV, AAC, AMR, MP3, FLAC, OGG, MIDI, M4A, apt-X, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, MID
Supported Digital Video Standards MKV, FLV, AVI, MPEG-4, WMV, ASF, 3GP, M4V, WebM, 3G2 MKV, FLV, AVI, MOV, WMV, 3GP, TS, WebM, H.265 HEVC, MP4
Sound Enhancements Acoustic Overload Point Qualcomm aptX audio
FEATURES Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS Microsoft Surface Duo
Phone Functions Speakerphone, voice control, call timer, conference call, flight mode, voice dialing, vibrating alert Speakerphone, voice control, call timer, conference call, flight mode, voice dialing, vibrating alert
Sensors Accelerometer, proximity sensor, barometer, gyro sensor, hall sensor, RGB sensor, heart rate, pressure sensor, geomagnetic sensor Proximity sensor, hall sensor, dual accelerometers, dual gyroscope, dual magnetometer, dual ambient light sensor
Security Devices Fingerprint reader, eye scan Fingerprint reader (side)
Additional Phone Features Face Unlock, Wi-Fi Miracast, MU-MIMO technology, Fast Charging, Samsung KNOX MIMO technology, Fast Charging, dual microphones with noise suppression and echo cancellation, Full Duplex communication, 360° hinge, stylus support, two apps side-by-side
OTHERS Samsung Galaxy Note8 DUOS Microsoft Surface Duo
Included Accessories Power adapter, tweezer, SIM card removal tool, USB Connector (USB-C), micro-USB connector, AKG headphones, USB-C cable, S Pen, Pen nibs SIM card removal tool, USB-C headphones, 18W charger, Surface Duo Bumper (Glacier)
Compliant Standards IP68, HAC (Hearing Aid Compatible) -
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