Surface Hub 2S: Microsoft introduces massive 85-inch display dedicated to Teams

Tired of watching your video meetings on a small laptop screen, or even a decent size 21- or 25-inch monitor?

Microsoft has an 85-inch answer for you with a dedicated giant display aimed at conference rooms, hospitals and anywhere else large corporate groups gather. And it costs only $21,000.

The Surface Hub 2S 85 begins pre-sales today and will be available in January. The unit is named after the popular computer/tablets made by Microsoft.

“With the changes in our work landscape and more people working remotely, now more than ever, businesses are looking for technology that helps recreate the energy and connection we feel when we’re in a room together,” Microsoft says in a blog post.

The 2S is a sequel to a previous 55-inch edition released in 2019. “One benefit to a larger screen that Hub provides is that it can help implement social distancing for people to stay six feet apart while working together,” says Microsoft.

The company says the mammoth flat screen-like TV that’s really a computer comes with a floor-supported wall mount and a mobile cart. It has a dedicated, removable webcam that clips to the top of the unit.

Zoom, the video meeting company that dominates the industry, recently announced its own dedicated meeting device, but the 27-inch DTEN ME unit sells for a more economical $599.

Makers of video displays Facebook Portal, Google’s Nest Hub Max and Amazon Echo Show said they will soon start offering Zoom access as well, with Portal beginning this month, and the other two adding it by the end of the year.

On the current most downloaded app chart, Zoom is No. 3 to Teams at No. 16 on Google’s app store, to No. 15 on Apple’s iOS chart. Teams didn’t make the top 50.

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