Towards the end of last year, Microsoft created something of a buzz by giving the world a sneak peek at a couple of new foldable form factors in the Surface Duo and Surface Neo

The former of those, the Duo, is a folding 'phone' with two internal displays, runs Android and features a 360-degree rotating hinge allowing you to use either of those two screens independently, or open it up to use them together as one larger surface. 

Now, almost a year since we first saw it, Microsoft has "officially unveiled" it. That means it's no longer just a working prototype, but a fully-fledged product with an actual release date.

Buyers will be able to get hold of one from 10 September. Pricing starts at $1,399 in the US. The device doesn't appear to be coming to the UK as yet with Microsoft telling Pocket-lint that "initially, Surface Duo will be available in the US."

Microsoft Duo available from 10 September photo 5
Microsoft

From the sounds of it, it's initially being pushed towards commercial buyers to be added into centrally managed ecosystems of devices for workforces, but it'll undoubtedly have some appeal for retail buyers too. 

In its blog post announcement, Microsoft hasn't gone into too much detail on the internal or external specifications. However, we do know that the displays on the inside are both 5.6-inch touchscreen. Combined, they create a larger 8.1-inch tablet screen. 

With the pricing set as it is, it's certainly not a cheap device. However, it's not unlike folding smartphones to be in the $1,500 ballpark figure and the Surface team has certainly taken a unique approach in this emerging folding market. 

Microsoft Duo available from 10 September photo 8
Microsoft

While traditional smartphone makers like Samsung and Huawei are all about using one single flexible panel, Microsoft's approach in using two individual flat panels will mean you're not going to get any creasing on the display and you won't have to worry about less durable displays in general. 

When folded, it's only 9.6 mm thick, meaning that once open it's the thinnest phone/tablet around, and it's compatible with the Surface Pen. 

Spec-wise, while the announcement didn't seem to mention them today, the early information was that this device would be running on the Snapdragon 855 processor with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.

We'll keep you updated as more information surfaces (pun not entirely intended). 

Microsoft Surface Duo 2