Surface Hub 2 Offers Microsoft's Take on Minority Report

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By Leah Heilbrunn
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Photo (Image credit: Microsoft)

Today, Microsoft introduced its newest take on collaborative work tech: the Surface Hub 2. Due out in 2019, the sequel to the original Surface Hub sports a design that's sleeker, more futuristic, and even more dynamic.

The Surface Hub 2 boasts large screens that can be tiled on the wall, to produce a mega-surface, and can also be mounted to rolling easel-like stands. These displays can be rotated in the mount, seemingly with no resistance and no delay in re-alignment.

Microsoft is targeting the Hub 2 at work, rather than play. The company's release video demonstrates the Hub being used to telecommute, work on projects, and make presentations.

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It may be for offices, but it appears to come straight out of Minority Report. The way the teams in the video seem to be able to swipe through a wall of screens, moving pieces and parts with a flick of a wrist is very ‘crime prevention Tom Cruise’ (pre- eye gouging).

The exact specs aren’t out yet, but the Surface Hub 2 will have a 50.5-inch display with a 4K or greater resolution. Microsoft will really have to deliver on that display, as its teasers promise crystal-clear images and beautiful video quality.

The Hub also seems to come equipped with a webcam and stylus for optimum workflow, but that’s really all the details we get for now. The announcement is mainly designed to get buzz going well ahead of next year's planned launch. I think it’s working.

Leah Heilbrunn
12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • bit_user
    MS seems to be trying harder to be like Apple every day.
    Reply
  • velocityg4
    It would be much cooler with the LCARS interface.
    Reply
  • mihen
    MS really isn't trying to be like Apple. They are trying to brand better. If you look at the world through MS's eyes, everything Apple created in the 2000s MS created first. The problem MS faced was the user experience and advertising.
    Reply
  • velocityg4
    20972934 said:
    MS really isn't trying to be like Apple. They are trying to brand better. If you look at the world through MS's eyes, everything Apple created in the 2000s MS created first. The problem MS faced was the user experience and advertising.

    Much of what Apple and MS created in the 80's and 90's was already created by Xerox in the 70's.
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    20972647 said:
    MS seems to be trying harder to be like Apple every day.
    I think they were just tired of being the invisible guys that don't get much credit. Much better to push the boundaries and generally lead by example, rather than just hope OEMs "do the things" as good as Apple (and market it as well as Apple). That doesn't mean they're copying them, so much as trying to play on the same field (rather than staying quiet in the background). I mean look at Surface Hub 2 or HoloLens. Are they really trying to be like Apple there?
    Reply
  • bit_user
    20972934 said:
    MS really isn't trying to be like Apple.
    What I meant is that they're building more hardware products, rather than just making a "Windows: Presentation Edition" OS and creating a hardware reference specification for their OEM partners to build something like what's shown in the demo.

    Between that and the app store, it feels a lot like Apple envy. I don't blame them, but they shouldn't forget that there are reasons why many of their (remaining) users didn't switch to Macs, years ago.
    Reply
  • kuhndj67
    20972647 said:
    MS seems to be trying harder to be like Apple every day.

    Apple lost their innovation edge years ago... Microsoft is setting the pace with tools like the Surface Hub, Apple thinks removing earphone jacks is "innovative".
    Reply
  • LORD_ORION
    Nobody trusts MS to follow through on new projects.
    They've scrapped so many things that they've alienated the people who were once willing to be their early adopters.
    Reply
  • derekullo
    20974235 said:
    Nobody trusts MS to follow through on new projects.
    They've scrapped so many things that they've alienated the people who were once willing to be their early adopters.

    Scrapping projects is better than wasting even more money on a losing endeavor, such as the Zune.
    Reply
  • WyomingKnott
    All I know is that I've been waiting decades for a whiteboard that can be written on directly, save what you have, and bring it up later for more work. First time I've seen one, and what I wanted is a tiny fraction of the features.
    Reply