Microsoft's Continuum in Windows 10 phones may be the most coveted feature in Redmond's mobile platform. Bringing the desktop PC experience through a smartphone is easily one of the most novel and innovative features that people need to further improve their productivity. However, the feature is, at the moment, only reserved to the likes of Windows 10 flagships such as the Lumia 950 and the Lumia 950 XL. But now, reports have surfaced that the company has just lowered the hardware system requirements by adding support for one of Qualcomm's midrange Snapdragon chipsets.
Originally, the two processors that support Continuum are Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipsets. What changed now in the list of support is the addition of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 chipset (MSM8692) -- a midrange silicon that features a 1.5 GHz octa-core Cortex A53 CPU. While it doesn't feature what the new high-end A72 chips bring into the table, it does come with video output support to give way. Of course, this is the primary requirement for Continuum to work as a device needs to output its display to a screen somehow. However, Microsoft could have gone further below, but both the Snapdragon 616 and the 615 do not support video output to an external display.
Furthermore, the official website also lists other requirements for the Continuum feature for phones. First, devices with a 1080p display must have 3GB of RAM, while stepping down to a 720p display will require the device to have 2GB of RAM. The 16GB of internal storage is also a must, and Bluetooth 4.0, as well as Wi-Fi 802.11n dual-band, is essential.
The lowered requirements would mean that Microsoft is opening the door to a lot of potential offers in the future. However, manufacturers and vendors that will offer smartphones with the chipset are still unknown, especially considering how the Lumia lineup is doing in the market.
