Surface Duo pricing in the UK (you won't like it), availability next week

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Just a week ago I wrote an editorial effectively slamming the upcoming Surface Duo launch and wishing Microsoft's strategy hadn't changed four years ago, fearing the launching in the UK would be too little, too late, and too expensive. And now we have official confirmation of the UK pricing. And... you're not going to like it. At all.

From Twitter this afternoon:

And pricing is quoted as "from £1349". In back channels, I'd said to colleagues that £799 would be a definite goer, £999 would be too expensive, and £1300+ would be "cloud cuckoo land". And, sadly, though predictably, Microsoft's prices for the Surface Duo start at £1349 (inc VAT). Which is insane - I know there are two displays and a complicated hinge, but specs-wise this level of Android device goes now for £300 or so. Even doubling this for the two screens is under half the asking price. 

Comments welcome, but at this stage I'm beyond being annoyed. I'm just disappointed. Annoyance would be when something's 'a little over-priced'. Disappointment is when a company so dramatically gets its pitch wrong that one simply loses all interest in it as a viable product. (Note also that the price in the USA is now $999.)

The Verge reports:

Priced from £1,349 in the UK, the Surface Duo will be available at the Microsoft Store in the UK and retailer Currys PC World.

The Surface Duo is also launching in Canada, France, and Germany on February 18th. The device will be priced at 1,549 euros in Germany. Microsoft first launched the Surface Duo in the US in September 2020, and it has taken the company around five months to complete an international release.