Microsoft Continuum is a fantastic new gadget designed for Microsoft’s two new flagship phones, the Lumia 950 and 950 XL. But what exactly does it do and how does it work? We’ve gone hands on to find out.
What is Microsoft Continuum?
Microsoft Continuum lets you turn your Lumia 950 or 950 XL into a big Windows 10 PC just by plugging into a screen, like a TV, computer monitor or projector. You can even add a mouse and keyboard for full computer control.
All you need to do is plug Continuum into your screen’s HDMI port and a power socket, then plug your phone into Continuum and launch the app. You’ll then be able to launch Microsoft apps (and other universal Windows 10 apps) and have them scale up for the big screen.
If you launch Microsoft Word, for example, you get the full desktop version on the big screen, with all the features and functions laid out how you’d expect so it’s easy to use.
What’s really handy is the different ways you can control it. You can tell Continuum to mirror the screen of your Lumia 950 or run apps independently like a separate computer so you can do more things at once.
If you want different things on the phone and big screen, you can still go into the Continuum app and use the phone screen as a track pad like on a laptop. Or you can add a mouse and keyboard to get some serious work done.
We’ve found Continuum works really quickly. Opening apps happens instantly on the big screen and there’s no lag if you’re using the phone as a track pad either.
If you only use your laptop or PC for things like Word and a bit of internet we think Microsoft Continuum, paired with a Lumia 950 or 950 XL, could happily replace it.