The biggest obstacle thus far for Continuum, however, is the fact that very few third party apps have been converted to the Universal Windows Platform – they’re apps that have been optimized to run on all sorts of devices (laptops, desktops, tablets, smartphones, etc). The limitation with it, though, is that we can’t have two applications running side-by-side, but we can at least switch between the ones were using at any time. This is all fascinating, but at the same time, makes for an added benefit because we’re presented with an environment that allows us to get work done more easily. All of the native apps, including Microsoft’s Office apps on the Lumia 950, run almost identically to what we get from a traditional laptop or desktop running Windows 10.
In fact, it reminds us of the Windows 10 experience on a tablet, while the phone itself can become the mouse cursor. Once Continuum is enabled, we get an experience similar to using Windows 10 on the connected monitor. It work quite well, especially when we improve the recognition by running the process through several different light sources. Based on iris scanning technology, a red-colored LED light on the front of the phone turns on and works in conjunction with the front-facing camera to authenticate us. Okay, the phone might lack a fingerprint sensor, but Microsoft offers its own alternative for unlocking the Lumia 950 – it’s called Windows Hello. Indeed, Microsoft makes some great strides here with Windows 10, which we’ll outline in more detail below, but it’s still by and large the third player playing catch up with the competition.
Trust us, there’s a lot to be excited about with Windows 10, but when we look at it from a practicality aspect, it still seems a smidgen behind the all-encompassing experiences we get from Android and iOS. The seamless integration moving from one Windows 10 device to another is useful, but something you’d kind of expect given that a lot of things are becoming cloud-based. This integration is invaluable, just because we can start on typing up a document with Microsoft Word, then proceed to finish editing it over on a PC.
And yes, you get the full suite of Microsoft Office apps out of the box, so it’s a productivity powerhouse right from the get-go. On the flip side, the platform has its roots embedded in Microsoft’s ecosystem – so if it’s your cup of tea, you’ll be enthralled by its deep integration. Even though Microsoft offers a YouTube “client”, it does nothing more than to open YouTube in the Microsoft Edge browser. Sure, you get a Google search app, but if you’re a diehard user of its other services, such as Google+, Google Voice, or Google Maps, you’ll be disappointed that you’ll find none of them for Windows 10. Despite that, one of our biggest gripes about the platform is the fact that it lacks apps that are near and dear to Google users. It competes to some degree with Android and iOS, as many of today’s popular apps can be found in the Windows Store. Microsoft’s mobile platform has evolved over the last several iterations, which now lays claim to a modest ecosystem filled with a healthy catalog of apps. That, of course, is recognized just by looking at its dynamic Start Screen, which consists of those live tiles that make it distinctively Windows. Most people familiar with Microsoft’s mobile platform will notice that on the surface, the Windows identity is still present with this most up-to-date version.
Yes, Windows 10 is what Microsoft calls the software running on its handset, even though this is a Mobile version of the OS, not the Windows 10 tailored to run on PCs. The single most alluring aspect of the Lumia 950 is, undeniably, the new Windows 10 experience it’s delivering.