The experience was good but not as fast as on a real PC with an SSD drive.
We created small Word documents, a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, answered e-mails and text messages (SMS), played videos on YouTube, watched short movies with the Movies & TV app and also wrote a large portion of this review using the Microsoft Display Dock. However, when you open several apps simultaneously, things start to get a bit slow and we don't recommend that you use more than 4 or 5 apps at a time.
Opening and closing apps works just like on your PC and the operating system is generally snappy: you can browse multiple websites i n Microsoft Edge and also get to use the phone features in Windows 10 Mobile, while using it also as a PC. The user experience is decent, at least when using the Microsoft Display Dock with a Microsoft Lumia 950. That's because Microsoft Edge needs to be an active window in order to play YouTube videos. For example, you can't listen to music on YouTube, in Microsoft Edge, while you write a Word document. Also, you can't have apps running in background doing their thing, unless they were designed to work as background apps and services.
While you can easily switch between apps, you can't have them split the screen side by side and you can have only one app displayed on the screen, at a time. That's because Windows 10 Mobile uses modern apps that are made for the ARM architecture, not desktop apps. Multi-tasking is there but it's not full-multitasking like on a desktop PC. You should have no troubles adapting to the user interface shown on the screen. No pricing or release dates have been given.Microsoft Display Dock, Windows 10 Mobile, Continuum, Lumia, smartphone, reviewĪll the Windows 10 Mobile apps look and work the same as on your Windows 10 PC.
The Microsoft Display Dock works with the newly-announced Lumia 950 and Lumia 950-XL smartphones. Instead, you’re restricted to Windows 10 universal apps, although the list of titles on that platform is definitely growing, so it might not be an actual downside for much longer. The downside, of course, is that it won’t run any regular Windows 10 apps.
Oh yeah, it runs the display at a 60 fps refresh rate, too, so there won’t be any flicker or lag, ensuring a smooth desktop experience. Even better, you’re free to use your phone the entire time it’s also serving as your desktop computer, so you can text, call, and even play games while spiffing up your resume, filling up a spreadsheet, or editing a photo. It comes with both HDMI and DisplayPort outputs, so you can use whichever port is available on the monitor or TV you want to run Windows on, as well as two regular USB slots for plugging in a mouse and a keyboard.Īs promised, the Microsoft Display Dock allows you to use your phone as a Windows PC, complete with a task bar, windowed applications, and all the other familiar things you’ve worked with through the years. Instead, you’ll need the Microsoft Display Dock as a go-between.ĭesigned to serve as a docking hub, the device connects to your phone via USB-C, charging it while transferring data at the same time. Apparently, though, it’s not quite as straightforward as simply hooking up a phone to the TV’s HDMI port. When Microsoft announced Continuum, we knew the new generation of Windows Phones can turn into instant desktop computers when plugged into a display.