The Surface Duo 2 uses a similar folio form factor to the first-generation model, although it is slightly thicker to accommodate a larger battery, and now offered in a new black color option.

[2] It features a pair of 5.8-inch OLED displays with a 90 Hz refresh rate, with their innermost edges being curved over the side.

[3][4] The device uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 5G system-on-chip, adding 5G and near-field communication (NFC) support that was not present on the original Surface Duo.

The Verge praised the Duo 2 for having more competitive hardware than the first-generation model, including a faster processor, more RAM, and 5G support (although still lacking features such as wireless charging), and its software for being "undeniably better than it was on the original at launch".

However, the reviewer noted issues with touch input response, web browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome did not support displaying multiple pages on the two screens, and felt that its cameras were exceeded in quality by even cheaper devices such as the Pixel 5a.