Understand Microsoft Teams Rooms on Surface Hub 2S
The Microsoft Surface Hub is a cutting-edge technology designed to enhance collaboration and productivity in modern workspaces. It's an interactive whiteboard that comes in two sizes - 50 inch and 85 inch - and features a large touchscreen display, high-quality cameras, microphones, and speakers.
Note
This unit is targeted only to Surface Hub 2S devices. Surface Hub v1 devices might bring similar features, but this content is designed for Surface Hub 2S devices. Whenever reading Surface Hub, it always means Surface Hub 2S.
The Surface Hub runs on a customized version of Windows called Windows 10 TeamOS, which enables it to support a wide range of applications, including Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Microsoft Teams and other apps. With these applications, the Surface Hub can be used as a digital whiteboard, a video conferencing solution, or a collaboration tool for remote teams.
The Surface Hub is also designed to facilitate brainstorming and idea sharing during meetings. It supports touch and pen input, making it easy to sketch ideas in the Microsoft Whiteboard application, annotate documents, and collaborate with colleagues in real-time. Additionally, the Surface Hub can be used to display multimedia content, such as videos, images, and PowerPoint presentations. With the power of the Microsoft Store, device admins can install additional apps from the Microsoft Store to provide their users required working tools, such as CAD software.
One of the most significant advantages of the Surface Hub is its ability to enhance remote collaboration. It features advanced camera and microphone technology, which allows remote teams to participate in meetings as if they were in the same room. This technology enables teams to work together more effectively, regardless of their location.
Surface Hub and Teams Rooms on Android interactive whiteboards
You already learned that Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android can be interactive whiteboards. A Surface Hub can also be categorized as an interactive whiteboard. For that reason, you need to understand the differences in capability between devices.
Understand that a Surface Hub and an Android interactive whiteboard are Microsoft Teams Rooms as well. For example, Yealink Meeting Board 65 or Neatframe NeatBoard are Teams Room devices from different OEMs. They differ mainly in that they're real all-in-one devices, combining display, camera, speaker, microphone, and software in one single device. Surface Hubs can also be deployed with a battery, so that it isn't even necessary to have the power cord connected and you can move the device across the office location while participating in the call or meeting.
Special use cases for Surface Hub
However, between the two, the Surface Hub is the more advanced interactive whiteboard. In addition to the standard features of a Teams Room, Surface Hubs bring a lot more value into your meetings with integrated Office applications and a browser.
Microsoft 365 integration: The main feature of the Surface Hub is the connection to the end-users personal Microsoft 365 account. Users can use the Surface Hub to sign-in into their account to create, view, edit and share their cloud stored content files such as Word, Excel or PowerPoint.
Screen sharing: During a Microsoft Teams Meeting, you can share your screen from the Surface Hub to let other participants know what file you're currently editing.
Presentation layouts: The Surface Hub has also some exclusive features for presentations. When sharing your screen, you can select a layout that combines the Surface Hubs camera and the shared content from your screen into a single viewing experience.
Microsoft Store: You can install additional apps that are published to the Microsoft Store to your device, so the users have every possible software tool that they need for their daily work.
A Surface Hub is a good option if you want to enable your users to work in a collaborative and creative way. It's mobile, can be used with a battery and brings additional features that an Android based interactive whiteboard doesn't have. With an Android based whiteboard, you're limited to attend Teams meetings, use the Microsoft Whiteboard app and share your screen via Teams Cast or HDMI cable.