Microsoft Surface Hub 2 Changes the Office Work

Microsoft Surface Hub 2: Microsoft Changes the Office Work Forever

Introducing Microsoft Surface Hub 2. Video uploaded by Microsoft Surface on May 15, 2017.

Microsoft Surface Hub is the most enigmatic product by the company and also hard to find in stores. It has been off the radar since it’s introduction back in 2016. It can be put down to the fact that the hub target users are enterprises and not private users. No one expected Microsoft to continue the line and the Surface Hub 2 took us by surprise.

The breathtaking ad is already on YouTube, but the hub won’t be available for order until 2019 and it’s hardware specs as well as prices are unknown.

So, what is the Surface Hub 2 exactly? It’s a 50.5-inch conference room display with 3:2 aspect ratio and a 4K+ resolution. The previous model, let us remind you, featured 55-inch or 84-inch options screens with the resolutions of 1080p and 4K correspondently. The Surface Hub 2 also sports thin bezels and rotates to a portrait position. Obviously, the screens with so high a resolution should be based on AMOLED matrix. As we know already from other companies’ experience, launching the production line for these matrix is a hard business. Perhaps, Microsoft is honing the supply chain, hence the delay in pre-orders.

As the Surface Hub 2 can now rotate, it features a muscle wire lock that looks similar to the one used in the Microsoft’s Surface Book. As the video shows, the Surface Hub 2 is so lightweight that workers can move it around an office. Dimensions and weight details are kept secret but the new design of the wheeled support catches your eyes at once. The solid dark rectangular support is replaced with the light contraption of tubes made by Steelcase. The company also produces wall mounts for the Surface Hub 2, that can be mounted in numbers to form a large faceted screen. It can work as one space or display different screens. Microsoft nicknames this feature as “tiling”. The “tiles” can stack against each other in portrait or landscape orientation. For better performance Microsoft made the 4K webcams removable. If needed they can be plugged back via USB-C.

Obviously, the Surface Hub 2 is designed for teamwork and cloud operations. It will add to the dynamic nature of the modern office when the crews from all over the world share the same virtual working environment. One of the scenarios, for instance, suggests biometric ID with a built-in fingerprint scanner. The other involves conference and individual calls with the help of far-field microphones and 4K cameras. Employees in the video can also connect their laptops and mobiles to the Surface Hub 2 to contribute into the working process and obviously the connection is wireless. From that we can conclude, that the live whiteboard features some Bluetooth connection as well. What’s more, the Surface Hub 2 supports the Surface Pen and sports a magnet strip to store it in place!

The Surface Hub 2 is designed for teamwork and cloud operations

The hardware of the Surface Hub 2 looks amazing. When the actors rotate the screen into the landscape orientation, the image doesn’t leave its place. We presume, Microsoft is going to roll out the overhauled OS for the hub. It is going to be more flexible and, perhaps, feature the new modular architecture.

With other similar devices to compete, Microsoft has to focus on something really unique. And we guess, the software is the key. Hence the early start of the ad campaign well ahead of the sales. Unlike Google Jamboard that comes $4000 cheaper than the first Surface Hub, the new whiteboard by Microsoft is integrated with the standard Office apps and the Creators kit. The Surface Hub 2 also comes with the users adaptation program and we predict that it will change the office forever like the first personal computers did.

Microsoft has already sold the first generation of the Surface Hubs to 5,000 businesses in 25 countries. They will probably be more than happy to upgrade, especially if there is some trade-in program with significant discounts. Thus, Microsoft hasn’t to worry about the future market.

We do hope, the engineers from Redmond will develop a small business or an educational model of the Surface Hub 2. It’s a very promising device.