Microsoft Surface Duo Emulator Support Comes To Stable Edge Browser For Dual Screen Goodness
The cogs are turning behind the scenes at Microsoft as the company continues development on its Surface Duo dual-screen Android device. Microsoft is working to give developers the tools they need to ensure websites and other software will function optimally in a dual-screen form factor. Microsoft has begun rolling out support for the Surface Duo emulator to the stable version of the Edge browser. Previously, the Duo emulator could be enabled on the Canary, Dev, and Beta branches for Edge and Chrome.
The roadmap shows the emulator is supposed to be completed in July 2020, but it can be enabled now in the previously mentioned branches. Microsoft's developer tools page reportedly shows there will be an option to emulate both the Surface Duo and the Galaxy Fold. One thing of note is that when enabled, the emulator places a span icon that appears as the hinge would in the emulator, showing what a webpage would look like on the actual device.
The emulation makes the hinge seem annoying as the gap it places in the center of the page is quite large. Those who want to try out the emulation on the appropriate version of the browser can follow these steps:
- Open a webpage
- Press F12
- When the console opens press Windows+Shift+M
- Choose surface Duo from the top of the emulation screen drop-down
- In dev tools, click the settings icon
- Enable "Emulation: Support dual screen devices" under Experiments.
- Restarting the browser will then enable the span icon
Following those steps in reverse will turn the emulation off. Developers can remotely debug web content using the Edge app in the Surface Duo emulator. Microsoft's anticipated Surface Duo is expected to launch soon. We got a good look at the device in a leaked video back in February. Hardware rumors surfaced last month suggesting that the Duo will have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 SoC, 11-megapixel camera, 6 GB of RAM, and 64 GB of storage the other versions available sporting more storage space.
