Microsoft previews how apps will work on dual-screen devices

Microsoft is at the forefront of dual-screen devices which are going to be plenty in 2020. Last year, the company introduced Surface Neo and Surface Duo reference devices for dual-screen devices. Now, Microsoft has given more details about how the interface on the future dual-screen devices will be.

Microsoft said the app will occupy a single screen by default but users can "span the app" to use it on the screens when the device is double-portrait or double landscape layout.

"You can programmatically enable full-screen mode for your app at any time, but spanning is limited to user activity for now," said the company in a blog post.

Microsoft is also opening its Android emulator for the Surface Duo to developers. The emulator will help developers test their applications in advance for the new form factor.

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Developers can expect the new Windows 10x, the custom operating system for dual-screen devices to offer responsive app layouts and support for different orientations. It also ensures support different kind of inputs as well as basic elements such as drag and drop or multi-instance.

"Users are empowered to have full control over how they use your app, including when they want to span your app. Some apps, like calculators, may not look great or derive any benefit from this configuration, but it's still the user's choice. However, you might decide that since most users won't choose to span your app, it's okay to not do anything to accommodate the user's action," Microsoft explained in a separate post.