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Microsoft obsesses over giant displays and super thin tablets in future vision video

Microsoft obsesses over giant displays and super thin tablets in future vision video

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Microsoft is back with another vision of the future. If you’ve followed the software maker’s previous future videos then not much has changed. Microsoft is still obsessed with big screens and that infatuation is even clearer with what the company calls "productivity future vision." Set between five and 10 years in the future, Microsoft’s vision includes holograms, 3D printers, super thin tablets, and bendable displays.

While everyone is busy flicking and swiping content from one device to another to get work done in the future, it’s nice to see there’s still a few keyboards laying around. Microsoft also shows off a concept tablet that’s shaped like a book, complete with a stylus. The tablet features a bendable display that folds out into a bigger device. If such a tablet will exist within the next 10 years then I want to pre-order one right now.

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There’s also a wrist-worn device that is formed by magic (magnets) by combining two seemingly normal wrist bands. It, once again, bends into what appears to be a remote to interact with a giant display. This particular display looks like the bizarre giant 55-inch tablets that Fox News use on a daily basis. Other displays in the video include wall-mounted versions in a living room, at schools, in offices, and even projections onto glass. It’s all very futuristic, and similar to the previous concept video in 2011.

Where are all the headsets?

What really stands out is the lack of headsets. Microsoft painted the future of Windows as HoloLens recently, a headset that projects holograms into the wearer’s vision. While several holograms appear in Microsoft’s latest future vision video, it’s not clear how they’re projected or how the future will handle interacting with them. That’s a strange disconnect for Microsoft, especially as we’ll likely rely on headsets for a number of years to power Windows Holographic.

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