Continuum Support Heads To Mid-Range Snapdragon 617-Powered Windows 10 Mobile Phones

One of the most ambitious features Microsoft has packed into Windows 10 Mobile is Continuum, which lets users plug their smartphone into a dock, and then take advantage of it as if it were a PC, complete with mouse, keyboard, and monitor. It's a niche feature, but for those who could take advantage of it, it can prove to be a real boon to on-the-go productivity.

Up to this point, Continuum has required beefier hardware to work, such as the hardware featured on the Lumia 950 and 950 XL. Microsoft has now added another SoC to the list: Qualcomm's MS8952, also known as the Snapdragon 617. At the moment, this chip is featured in only one Windows 10 Mobile smartphone, the NuAns Neo, but given its feature-set (and perhaps price), we could see it in more phones down the road.

Under the hood of the Snapdragon 617 is an 8-core CPU based on Cortex-A53 cores, clocked at 1.5GHz. For graphics duties, there's the Adreno 405, which gets a little underworked in the NuAns Neo thanks to its 720p display.

Given that the Snapdragon 617 wouldn't be as expensive as top-end 8XX offerings from Qualcomm, it could be that we'll begin to see more 617s (or similar) pop up in future Windows 10 Mobile devices. It's no secret that Microsoft desperately wants more smartphone market share, and for that to happen, it needs to make sure that those who are tempted by Windows 10 Mobile will have a device that speaks to them - and for most, that's not one that costs $500+.