Microsoft has shown off a second-generation version of its digital whiteboard, the Surface Hub.
Coming out roughly three years after the original Surface Hub’s Canadian launch, this new version looks to improve on many of the issues that surfaced with the 2015 Hub.
The new Hub is a lot smaller than the original device, making it easier to move around and the smaller screen size means the device now has the same aspect ratio as other Surface devices (3×2).
The office device features a 50.5-inch 4K display that supports multi-touch. Mounted on top of the display is a 4K capable webcam that looks like it can be removed if a bunch of screens are stacked beside one another. Mounting multiple devices beside each other also works better than ever before, since the new version has tiny bezels.
For security, the device has a fingerprint scanner that users can utilize to log in quickly and access their files. One of the neat features with this is that multiple users can sign in at once, so it’s even easier to collaborate and share files on one device.
There isn’t much else being shared about the device so far, but Microsoft did post a rather inspirational video to showcase the new device.
From the video, it looks like the device will be running a version of Windows 10 that has a few cool features added. One of the most interesting things shown is the way the software adjusts itself on screen whenever the Hub is rotated.
The video also does a good job of showcasing the new stand that is being manufactured by Steelcase. It looks fairly handy and it also appears to not take up as much space as the original Surface Hub stand.
While there’s much that’s intriguing about the Hub, the one thing that might be cause for trepidation is the price. The smaller version of the current Surface Hub costs just under $10,000 USD while the larger costs $23,000 USD, so this new device will likely be expensive, too — perhaps prohibitively so for smaller businesses.
Source: Microsoft
