Continuum is one of the essential features of Windows 10 Mobile and Microsoft’s banking on it in order to bring together with PC and smartphone platforms, so it’s no surprise that the company attempts to protect the technology behind it with a patent.



As reported by MSPU, Microsoft filed a patent for Continuum in August 2015, but it’s not yet clear whether the company has already been granted this request or not.
Continuum is essentially a feature that allows a smartphone powered by Windows 10 Mobile to connect to a larger screen, such as a PC monitor, a TV, or a projector, and mirror the phone interface on it. Thanks to universal apps, which can adapt to different screen sizes, users can work on the bigger display just like they do it on a typical computer.
Patent description With the help of the Display Dock adapter, Continuum can also work with USB mice and keyboards, thus enhancing the whole experience and bringing it closer to a PC.
Microsoft explains the purpose of Continuum in the patent documents:
“A user may carry their processor and content from place to place on their phone and interact with different components that provide i/o that is superior to that available on just the phone. Since the content is carried from place to place in the smart phone, or is stored in the cloud but accessible from the single point of contact in the smart phone, issues associated with duplicating content, sharing content, and content getting out of sync are resolved.
“Since the computing resources in the components are reduced, issues associated with cost and power consumption are mitigated. Since the user is using the same phone, operating, system, application, and interfaces wherever they are, they can more easily have their user experience transferred seamlessly from place to place onto different external components.”
Continuum is currently available only for the top Windows 10 Mobile devices, such as the Lumia 950 and 950 XL, but Microsoft has already confirmed that more devices could get it in the coming months. They don’t need to be devices manufactured by Microsoft, as third-parties could also build phones supporting Continuum (HP’s Elite X3 is one such example).