Microsoft released its first Android phone back in 2020, the Surface Duo. It's the only modern Android device with two side-by-side displays (not counting the add-on cases for various LG phone), and even though it's still a questionable buy at its new 9 retail price, Microsoft plans to sell it in more regions this year, starting with Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany on February 18.

"Since introducing Surface Duo in August 2020," Microsoft said in a blog post, "people have asked when we would make this product available outside of the US. We’re pleased to share that in early 2021, we’ll be offering Surface Duo in Canada, United Kingdom, France, and Germany." And now that we've reached "early 2021," the countries mentioned by Microsoft are in for the Duo starting February 18.

It's interesting to see Microsoft expanding the availability of the original Surface Duo, rather than waiting for a second-generation model. The current Duo is still one of the worst hardware values in the smartphone market, featuring a Snapdragon chipset that will soon be two years old and no NFC/high refresh rate/wireless charging/water protection. The second screen is really the only selling point for the phone, which might not be enough in 2021.

The Surface Duo will start at €1549 in Germany and France and £1349 in the UK, and $1,869.99 in Canada. The phone was originally priced at $1,399.99 in the US for the 128GB model, or $1,499.99 for the 256GB variant. However, it has gone on sale a few times, dropping as low as $1,200, and along with the international announcement, Microsoft is permanently reducing the price to 9 in the US.

UPDATE: 2021/02/11 9:15am PST BY MANUEL VONAU

February 18 date

Updated with international availability.

Source: Microsoft (1), (2), (3), (4)