Really intrigued by the dual-screen displays. I wasn’t totally on board when I first heard the announcement. It felt a little bit like MS were just throwing out different screen / keyboard combinations in an attempt to be novel. We’ve had screen and keyboard, screen and detachable keyboard, screen and screen. I assume in a couple of years it will be a keyboard attached to a keyboard?
But the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Like I’m sure many here I have dual screens at work and at home, and when I have to use a single screen for example when travelling it feels constrained. Having to switch between apps really does break your flow.
I can think of all sorts of uses. Just the other day I was writing an email on the bus and constantly flicking between Outlook and a Word doc to look up figures, having them side by side on a Duo would’ve been so useful. Or when travelling for work being able to place the Neo on a desk like an open book would be an incredibly portable dual monitor setup. If there’s developer buy in there could be all sorts of interesting features added to existing apps, although as history shows developers are not always keen to jump onboard Microsofts next big idea.
I think there’s 2 main hurdles to think about:
1.) Software improvements allowing for better multitasking - we’re seeing split screen and picture-in-picture become more mainstream on mobile devices, which allows for limited multitasking on a single screen. While this may make 2 screens unnecssary to an extent, I think the added real estate from an extra screen will be really valuable.
2.) Truly foldable screens - I think this is the future, but still seems to be a long way off. I’d rather have a well functioning dual screen device, than a delicate, prone to breaking folding screen one.