David Imel / Android Authority
Microsoft’s Bing search engine used to be a punchline in the tech industry and was seen as nothing more than a ho-hum alternative to Google search. That changed in February when Microsoft unveiled Bing Chat.
Bing Chat is an AI chatbot based on the GPT-4 model, which is the same technology that powers the popular AI chatbot ChatGPT. With this feature, you can make all kinds of web queries in natural language, going even deeper than current language assistants. Needless to say, Microsoft has an impressive weapon in its tech arsenal. And this Bing chat could be the killer app for the company’s upcoming Surface Duo 3.
Surface Duo: Innovative but flawed
David Imel / Android Authority
Microsoft first launched the Duo line in 2020 with the original Surface Duo, followed by the Surface Duo 2 in 2021. These mobile devices (don’t call them phones) differed from typical foldable devices by having two separate Offered screens instead of a foldable display. And that was just the start of the weirdness.
Microsoft’s devices brought with them some interesting software ideas such as: Examples include dragging and dropping content between screens, spanning an app across two screens (e.g. the Kindle app showing a page on each screen), and app pairs launching two different apps on each screen at the same time . Unfortunately, the two Surface Duo devices were incredibly flawed in their respective launches. And the company’s attempts to fix things seemed too little, too late.
The Surface Duo line brought innovation to the table, but a Duo 3 model needs an extra boost.
Microsoft is reportedly back in the saddle with the Surface Duo 3, and it’s believed this new device will offer a single foldable screen like other foldable devices. This is perhaps a tacit omission that the dual-screen form factor wasn’t quite a game changer. But a Surface Duo 3 with a foldable screen will compete against growing competition in the global foldable market. Companies like Honor and TECNO have also launched foldable devices, while OnePlus and Google are expected to join the fun later this year. This is in addition to Samsung’s all-conquering foldables, which in a way are already essentially unofficial Microsoft foldables.
Additionally, previously unique Surface Duo features like app pairs and drag-and-drop functionality are fairly common on foldable phones in 2023. So Microsoft needs to bring more innovative features if the Surface Duo 3 is to stand out from a sea of ​​pretenders to Samsung’s throne. Luckily, this is where Bing Chat could come in.
How Bing Chat could make a difference on Surface Duo 3
Calvin Wankhede/Android Authority
Although relatively new, the Bing app’s new Bing Chat beats Google Assistant in several areas, according to our tests. Our own Calvin Wankhede noted that Bing Chat doesn’t require queries to be phrased a specific way (unlike Assistant), while also being able to account for spelling or text errors. Calvin even wrote that Microsoft’s tool was able to provide helpful recipe tips on a substituted ingredient, while Google Assistant hit a dead end. Your mileage may vary, and Google is still working on its Bard chatbot, but it’s obvious that Bing Chat is more advanced than the current Google Assistant.
Microsoft also has the option to add even more features to Bing Chat on the Surface Duo 3. Perhaps the biggest omission is the lack of support for hardware controls, as Bing Chat lacks the ability to toggle system settings (e.g. toggle to vibrate). and text/call someone. We’d love to see this functionality carried over to the Bing chatbot, and in fact we wouldn’t mind if the chatbot came to Microsoft’s Swiftkey keyboard as a whole so that we could call it in any app. Imagine having the power of a conversational AI available to you during any chat.
Bing Chat understands queries better than Google Assistant, but Microsoft can still do better on a Surface Duo 3.
Another essential feature for a powerful Bing chat on the Surface Duo 3 would be the smart home controls. Finally, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa both support smart home commands. So if Microsoft really wants people to ditch the Google and Amazon assistants, it needs to catch up on their huge lead. Hopefully the new Matter standard and natural language communication could help close the gap somewhat.
Finally, another ambitious goal for Bing Chat on a new Surface Duo is some offline capabilities. Similar to Google Assistant, this could be limited to a few preset commands, so you can still do some local queries in areas with poor network coverage.
What else could Microsoft offer on a Surface Duo 3?
David Imel / Android Authority
A more powerful Bing chat could do a lot to set the Surface Duo 3 apart from the folding devices to come. But nothing prevents Microsoft from bringing an improved version of Bing for previous Duo models as well.
Otherwise, Microsoft could also implement its recently announced Office 365 AI Copilot on the Surface Duo 3, allowing users to quickly create slideshows, charts, document templates, create professional-looking emails, and harness the full power of Office with a few quick prompts. This makes even more sense on a small-screen portable device; the less fiddling the better. Combine these features with a desktop mode and you have an unbeatable deal for businesses.
Finally, a Surface Duo 3 would also be an opportunity for Microsoft to bring native PC integration to the table. This allows you to enjoy features like file transfers, SMS/calls on PC and more without having to download additional apps.
Either way, an enhanced version of Bing Chat for Surface Duo devices would go a long way in setting Microsoft’s mobile hardware apart from the rising ranks of foldable competitors.
Comments
