There have been two distinct
directions in the way forward regarding mobile devices like smartphones and
tablet computers that are of the “folding” variety. Currently there is the
full-foldable touchscreen tech wherein a screen can fold and unfold to reveal a
larger uninterrupted display of content. But an alternate approach is the “dual-screen”
system, wherein two separate screens are put together by a hinged joint, but
where touchscreen interaction carries over from one screen to another (dragging
an app icon from left screen to right). It is this design that Microsoft is
focusing on with their upcoming dual-screen Surface devices.
And according to The Verge, Microsoft is now giving
mobile software developers an opportunity to test their new apps for
compatibility with their dual-screen approach for the releasing-this-year
Surface Duo smartphone and the Surface Neo tablet. Both gadgets were first
introduced by Microsoft in October of last year, and with the dual-screen setup
there are certain display quirks that mobile developers must consider so that
their apps will display correctly. There is also the matter of different
operating systems for the Surface Neo and Duo. The larger tablet uses Microsoft
10X, the mobile-optimized variant with dual-screen support; Duo uses Android.
In Microsoft’s Surface
dual-screens, an app’s default setting would have it open on only one screen,
though users would be able to stretch the app’s size across to straddle both
displays whether on dual-portrait or dual-landscape mode. This is only a basic
example, as Microsoft hopes mobile developers can push the envelope on
dual-screen display potential. A document viewer app for instance can open a
multipage document and see consecutive pages of it. It might also be possible
to open two apps at once, each operating on a different screen. The
applications are said to be endless and Microsoft is looking to get feedback
after the developers do their tests.
These developer tests can be
underway as soon as they receive the appropriate Surface MOS emulators from
Microsoft for them to work with. As of Wednesday, January 22 an Android
emulator is ready for developers of apps for the Surface Duo. By February a
Windows 10X emulator will be released for Surface Neo developers too. The
Win-10X emulator will naturally have native Windows API support which will be
an easier to convert for displaying on dual-screen. But these are not exclusive
to Microsoft-aligned devs. HP, Asus and Lenovo and similar OEMs are also developing
for Windows 10X regarding dual-screen compatibility.
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