It’s interesting that the predominant “form” for the smart phone has been a single vertical screen. So the fold out phone like Samsung’s is still keeping that form, but the Surface Duo actually changes the “form” to two distinct screens.

A habit change that I think will be too hard for consumers to palate right now.

TL;DR = A tablet-shaped device without a front facing screen is appealing only to a limited audience with specific use cases in mind, notably not making calls or consuming audio/video content.

Think there’s more nuance to this. Article actually talks about the concept of form and function as appealing to different subsets of mobile consumers. Motivation for surface duo is productivity - the design revolves around this I.e. form derivative of function

Samsung fold on the other hand revolves around the convenience of streaming and gaming, basically having a larger screen for a better experience. A convenience driven design appeals to a broader more general consumer base