Microsoft Surface Duo to offer handy ‘peek’ feature for notifications

The forthcoming dual-screened Microsoft Surface Duo device will reportedly come with an innovative feature that will enable users to ‘peek’ at notifications without fully unfurling the device.

A leaked video shows a purported animation of the UI feature, which would show home screen alerts on the right hand display, just by opening the device slightly.

The notifications appear condensed on the near-edge of the display, enabling users to quickly dismiss them with a quick swipe if they don’t wish to fully engage with them.

The feature will be quite handy considering the Surface Duo does not have an outer display and would also a neat privacy feature if you’re looking to have a quick glance at the Duo without unfurling the full display.

Related: Microsoft Surface Duo vs Surface Neo

A second video (via The Verge) shows it’ll also be possible to take a peak at an incoming call and close the device in order to decline or silence the call. Opening the device in full will make it possible to answer the call in the usual manner.

The leaked video from prominent Twitter leaker WalkingCat (@h0x0d) also shows a condensed look at the time and date on the home screen for the Android based device that’s due out in 2020. You can see both videos below:

Microsoft recently offered a taste of what we can expect from Android on the new generation of foldable devices, which is its own take on the hottest form factor in the smartphone world right now. There will be two very distinct screens on the Surface Duo, so providing the hinge works well, there will likely be fewer hardware issues for early adopters to contend with.

Here’s a look at how some of those dual-screen experiences will – quite literally – unfold when Microsoft releases its vision for the future of the phone. Microsoft will likely give us the full skinny at its Build conference in May this year.