Barnes & Noble's Nook app works pretty well with Surface Duo

By published

Get ready to flip those pages.

Surface Duo Nook Comic
Surface Duo Nook Comic (Image credit: Daniel Rubino / Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • The official Nook app from Barnes & Noble works with Surface Duo.
  • The app is can orient around Duo's dual screens, allowing you to treat it like a virtual book.
  • Nook users can download the app from Google Play for free (opens in new tab) now.
  • Surface Duo is available to buy now starting at $1,400 (opens in new tab).

Barnes & Noble is now on the Surface Duo bandwagon, offering an option to make its official Nook app for Android work well with Microsoft's novel new dual-screen device. Much like Amazon's Kindle reader app before it, the Nook app properly orients itself around the Duo's hinge, making it feel like reading an actual book or magazine.

In order to use the Nook app with Surface Duo in this way, you will have to do some toggling with its settings, however. Under the "Reader" settings, you'll have to find the "Column Mode for Landscape" option. From there, select "Always Two Columns."

Now, when you're reading a book, comic, or magazine in landscape orientation, the Nook app will keep pages separated between screens. The hinge won't cover any content in whatever you're reading.

Image 1 of 2
Image 1 of 2

If you want to give the Nook app a try, it's available to download now for free at Google Play (opens in new tab). Also be sure to check out our list of Surface Duo optimized apps for more apps that play well with the Duo's dual-screen setup.

Double the fun

 (opens in new tab)
Microsoft Surface Duo

Two screens are better than one

Microsoft delves into the future of foldables with an ambitious dual-screen device, featuring two ultra-thin 5.6-inch AMOLED displays bound by a 360-degree hinge. This pocketable inking-enabled Android smartphone marks the latest in the Surface lineup, geared for mobile productivity.

Microsoft Surface Duo

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Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the Editor in Chief for Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. Got a hot tip? Send it to daniel.thorp-lancaster@futurenet.com.
8 Comments
  • Very nice, the Duo seems to naturally lend itself well for reading. 8 inch (/containing 2 pages) also seems like the perfect size for reading longer (so like an e-reader the device is not to heavy at 250 gr).
  • I have always been using the Nook app and love this new feature on the Duo. Read a book last night and realized that it's time to say goodbye to my Lenovo Tab8. The Duo makes it feel like I am actually reading a book.
  • Awesome! We need more dual screen support. But, I don't think it will come to a lot of apps until other OEMs made devices similar to Duo. That, or Duo would have to one day be hugely popular on its own. That's going to take awhile.
  • Damn, I forgot all about Barnes & Noble's
  • Seeing the Kindle (and now Nook) app working on the Duo made me think that a dual-screen "Kindle Book" e-ink device would be a potentially huge product for Amazon. Not that I'm holding out any hope -- I also think a large e-reader would serve them well, but they can't be bothered to make anything bigger than the 7" Oasis*, so why would they be adventurous with a dual-screen device. (* Yes, I remember the Kindle DX from ancient times.) Anyway, I think the reader apps are a killer feature for the Surface Duo. It seems like a minor thing, but it just seems so cool to me.
  • A dual screen e-reader would be cool indeed but I also think to expensive for an e-reader (unless if it also runs Android or such maybe). People at that price point would probably be better off buying a Duo in a sale. Maybe in the future though when dual screens are broadly adopted.
  • A Dual Screen Kindle would cost too much to be attractive to that user base, in addition to offering nothing they need. There is no good utility in a dual screen eReader. Just because you can view two pages does not mean you can read two pages at once. It adds nothing to the experience, except creating a much larger (and less comfortable) form factor for eReading. I would never buy a device like that, and I wouldn't buy a dual screen phone, anyways. It's more vanity than practical for day to day usage - particularly at current price points.
  • But reading for a long time on phone/tablet type screen is awful, e-ink is far better, i will stick with my kobo, a unit that is made for reading and also a lot flipping cheaper.