One of the highly touted features of the new Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL flagship Windows 10 devices which are finally hitting the market is Continuum.
Continuum allows you to connect your handset to a full size monitor, keyboard, mouse and other USB based peripherals using the Microsoft Display Dock.
I picked up a Lumia 950 last week from AT&T along with the display dock to begin testing out the new handset.
Continuum is a feature I have initially tried out several times since getting the new phone however, usage scenarios here in my home office are nearly non-existent because I have my full size desktops and laptop devices if I need to accomplish detailed work.
Using Continuum on the road when traveling is also not a realistic options because that would mean carrying additional peripherals such as a keyboard, mouse, HDMI or DisplayPort cables or possibly a wireless receiver to use the feature.
They do make good small form factor keyboards these days and compact mice so it is not unreasonable to think it is feasible in certain situations but it is just easier to take a laptop or Surface with everything all together.
Check out Lumia 950: First Look
As other reviewers of the 950 commented last week - these handsets are really showing the concepts behind the new technology and I have no doubt that it will be refined as new iterations start to come out. We have seen Microsoft do this before with Surface and I fully expect the same to happen with these new flagship devices and their successors.
A few notes about Continuum:
- Although you appear to be in a desktop environment there is no side by side multitasking with apps. You can have more than one app open and shortcuts will be active on the taskbar while the app is open but they can not be added permanently. You can easily switch between apps using the taskbar and Taskview is also available in Continuum.
- Not all apps are created equal which means not every app you have installed on your phone will run in Continuum mode. If an app has been built using the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) then it will work just fine but all other apps you will find their Tile or shortcut dimmed which indicates they will not run until you leave Continuum mode.
- You can use your phone while it is Continuum mode including texting, phone calls and apps - including those which will not run in Continuum mode. I guess technically you could call this multitasking.
- You can initiate a screenshot using the keyboard shortcut or directly on the phone however, the image will always be the view on the desktop display.
- No windowed apps in Continuum mode - everything is full screen.
Check out the gallery to get an idea how things look in different apps when the phone is in Continuum mode.
