Microsoft announced in a blog today that its dual screen phone, the Surface Duo, will be getting an “enhanced” TikTok app that takes advantage of its design. The company also announced the Duo will be available outside the US in early 2021.
When The Verge reviewed the Surface Duo, we liked the hardware of the device, but had concerns with its modified Android software. The Duo was buggy at release and didn’t feature many non-Microsoft apps that took advantage of the dual screen setup. The Surface Duo can run normal Android phone apps on either screen, but using the split-screen features Microsoft designed requires specific tailoring.
The group of apps that use Microsoft’s “postures” and multitasking features remains small, but TikTok is a major social media addition.
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The company says that TikTok will use both of the Duo’s screens, allowing you to watch the “For You” feed on one screen, while browsing hashtags and searching for videos on the other. Microsoft highlighted the Spotify and Kindle apps when the Duo launched, but TikTok is one of the biggest apps to add full support since then. (Microsoft itself attempted to purchase the company from ByteDance earlier this year.)
In addition to the new app, Microsoft says the Surface Duo will be available for purchase in Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in early 2021. The company says they’ll have more to share “at the beginning of 2021,” so expect a more specific release date or maybe even an update on the Duo’s larger sibling, the Surface Neo, in the future.
The “enhanced” TikTok app should be available now for Duo owners.
