Developer puts Surface Hub OS on Lumia 950XL smartphone

Developer Gustave Monce has launched Microsoft’s x86 operating system Surface Hub OS on a 2015 ARM-based Lumia 950XL smartphone. The software is not suitable for everyday use.

Monce did it because he wanted to get the software to boot, he reports on his blog. Surface Hub OS is the Windows variant that runs on Microsoft’s ‘digital whiteboard’ Surface Hub, which the company sells to business customers. Those are much larger screens, up to 85 “. The Lumia 950XL has a 5.7” screen.

Users must self-image an update file from Surface Hub OS, a process that Monce has automated with a self-made tool. Then it flashes via Microsoft’s Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool. After that, users have to install the drivers separately and set them up via the commandline accounts. If the screen shows ‘getting things ready for the next session’ after boot, users on a connected keyboard must press Windows, Esc, or Shift key multiple times and double-click the screen, and Surface Hub OS will boot. This is necessary because the lockscreen does not work. The OS does not work on the Lumia 950 or other Windows 10 Mobile models.

The cumbersome operation is intended to show that it is possible to run the software on the phone. The software development for the five-year-old smartphone is still ongoing: recently dual screen support was introduced in Windows 10.