It's been almost a year since Microsoft first teased the Surface Duo, and our review unit just showed up last week. While we can't talk about the software experience quite yet, we can answer one question we have received from several readers: how does the hinge feel?

The Surface Duo has two hinges, located at the ends of both touch displays. As shown off in the transparent model provided to CNET earlier this month, both hinges have cables running through them to keep the two sides connected. Moving parts tend to be the first points of failure in any electronic device, but if the hinges break on the Duo, you're going to have more problems than just a dead screen.

Thankfully, the hinge on the Surface Duo feels remarkably sturdy, especially considering how thin the device is as a whole. Microsoft nailed the amount of resistance here — it's not so difficult to open that I feel like the phone will snap, nor is it loose enough to slowly lose its form when angled in tent mode. No matter what position the Surface Duo is in, it stays there.

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I'm also happy to report that the hinge doesn't make any noise, or at least not in the week I've had the phone. There's no creaking or snapping, just silence as I open and close the Duo. There's also very little noise when shutting the phone, only a muffled clap, like closing a bed stand drawer.

I'll be able to talk more about the Surface Duo in our full review next week, but I can definitely say already that you don't have to worry about the hinge. Instead of a potential liability, the Duo's hinge makes the product feel like a single cohesive experience, rather than two slabs of glass haphazardly stuck together.