52 TECH ADVISOR • JANUARY 2020MICROSOFT SURFACE EVENT
with multiple displays, and championed by a dual-
screen Surface Neo.
It’s “made to adapt to you in both form and
function”, Microsoft hardware chief Panos Panay
crowed during the Neo’s introduction. “Windows
has always been about productivity, and now we
take that to a new level on dual screens,” Microsoft’s
Carmen Zlateff explained during a dedicated reveal of
Windows 10X itself.
Both Panay and Zlateff called Windows 10X a ‘brand
new expression’ of Microsoft’s operating system created
for this new breed of devices. Applications open on
whichever screen you summon them on, leaving the
second display ready to multitask. Clicking a button
on the edge of the app can shift it to the other screen
when you need to rejigger things. If you need to
dedicate your focus on a single task, you can ‘Span’
an app across both screens by dragging it halfway
between them. It will expand to fill both displays.
Windows 10X reacts to the accessories you use
with your dual-screen device as well as the way you’re
holding it, a behaviour Microsoft called “Postures”.
The Surface Neo, for example, supports a magnetic
Bluetooth keyboard that covers about two-thirds of
one display. Windows 10X recognizes the hardware
when you flip it into place, shrinking the display into
a supplementary ‘Wonder Bar’ with ‘rich expressive
input’ (like selectable emoji) and a touchscreen
experience designed to mimic a trackpad. You can
still move apps to the Wonder Bar as well: Zlateff
moved a Netflix stream from the main display to the
Wonder Bar as part of her presentation.52 TECH ADVISOR • JANUARY 2020MICROSOFT SURFACE EVENT
withmultipledisplays, and championed by a dual-
screen Surface Neo.
It’s “made to adapt to you in both form and
function”, Microsoft hardware chief Panos Panay
crowed during the Neo’s introduction. “Windows
has always been about productivity, and now we
take that to a new level on dual screens,” Microsoft’s
CarmenZlateffexplainedduringa dedicatedrevealof
Windows10X itself.
Both Panay and Zlateff called Windows 10X a ‘brand
new expression’ of Microsoft’s operating system created
for this new breed of devices. Applications open on
whichever screen you summon them on, leaving the
second display ready to multitask. Clicking a button
on the edge of the app can shift it to the other screen
when you need to rejigger things. If you need to
dedicate your focus on a single task, you can ‘Span’
an app across both screens by dragging it halfway
between them. It will expand to fill both displays.
Windows 10X reacts to the accessories you use
with your dual-screen device as well as the way you’re
holding it, a behaviour Microsoft called “Postures”.
The Surface Neo, for example, supports a magnetic
Bluetooth keyboard that covers about two-thirds of
one display. Windows 10X recognizes the hardware
whenyouflipit intoplace,shrinkingthedisplayinto
asupplementary ‘Wonder Bar’ with ‘rich expressive
input’ (like selectable emoji) and a touchscreen
experiencedesignedtomimica trackpad.Youcan
stillmoveappstotheWonderBaraswell:Zlateff
moveda Netflixstream from the main display to the
Wonder Bar as part of her presentation.