Microsoft may be positioning the Lumia 650 as a business device, but it seems to have left out at least one business function – screen casting.
For the uninformed, Windows 10 Mobile essentially has two ways of “casting” your screen from your phone or tablet, to a PC or dumb screen.
The first and most popular of the duo is continuum. Continuum is different from conventional screen-casting in that it does not replicate your screen on a PC screen, it converts your phone into a pseudo-Windows 10 PC that can replicate most but not all of the functionality of Windows 10 and Windows 10 Universal apps. It is restricted to premium and mid-range devices like the Lumia 950, Vaio Phone Biz and Acer Jade Primo.
On the other end of the scale, we have project my screen. This is simply screen casting introduced in Windows Phone 8.1 to newer quad core devices, and offers a simple duplication of the screen on other PCs or blank screens. Nokia previously provided this functionality by way of two useful apps Lumia Beamer and Photo Beamer, which Microsoft killed off late last year due to the functionality being present in Windows Phone natively.
Both of these options are good for business users of prosumers who may want to use their phone for quick presentations.
To extend the usefulness of those two functions, Microsoft now includes a “coect” universal app in default Windows 10 installs ruing the aiversary edition.
This app allows you to make use of either simple screen projection or continuum in a Windows on your Windows 10 PC or tablet.
In light of the above, it is baffling that Microsoft neglected to include either one of these features in the business oriented Lumia 650.
Continuum is excusable given the prize of the Lumia 650, but older devices like the Lumia 630 up to the 830 could make use of screen-casting.
It is not an accident that the Lumia 650 does not have screen casting, due to Microsoft downgrading the processor of the 640 to a Snapdragon 200 series, not all features made the cut – and screen projection was one of them.
If you’re a Lumia 640 owner who makes use of miracast on your device, you may be better off skipping the Lumia 650.