Are Interactive Displays Becoming Giant Expensive Tablets?

Some are, and that's usually down to how they're bought, not the hardware. An interactive display ends up as a giant expensive tablet when a company pays for touch, ink, wireless sharing and built-in conferencing, then uses it only to show slides from a laptop. It pays for itself when the room's meetings actually involve writing, editing and deciding together, and when someone sets it up so that those features are the easiest option on the wall.

This post looks at what you are actually paying for in an interactive display, which features tend to be used and which tend to be ignored, and how to buy only what your meetings need. It's a separate question from whether a large display should replace a projector, which we look at in The 100-Inch TV Revolution: Is the Projector Finally in Trouble? For classrooms, see Can a Digital Whiteboard Bring Remote Students Back Into the Conversation?

What are you actually paying for in an interactive display?

Take away the marketing and an interactive flat panel is four things in one chassis: a large commercial screen, a touch layer with pens, a built-in computer or app platform, and (on some models) a camera and microphones for video calls. Each layer adds cost.

The vendors describe these layers in very different ways. MAXHUB's XBoard V7 series page lists 50 touch points, a whiteboard app with palm rejection, wireless sharing through MAXHUB Share (BYOM, Miracast, AirPlay and Chromecast) and a 16-microphone array. It also notes that the board runs MAXHUB OS 7.0 on Windows and "cannot operate without a PC module", which is sold separately. Samsung's UK page for the Flip Pro WM65B lists 20-point multi-touch, says up to 50 devices can connect wirelessly through SmartView+, and describes a 3-in-1 USB-C port for mirroring, touch control and charging. LG's Asia page for the 65TR3DJ CreateBoard lists 20 touch points, sharing of up to six screens through LG CreateBoard Share, and 16/7 operating hours.

None of those numbers tells you whether your team will pick up a pen.

Why do so many boards end up as expensive screens?

Most interactive displays that get used as plain screens fall into one of four patterns.

• The meetings were never collaborative. If most sessions are status updates or one person presenting, nobody needs 20 or 50 touch points. A board in a presenting room is a TV with extra steps.
• The laptop wins by default. If the HDMI cable is on the table and the board's own whiteboard is two menus deep, people plug in. Touch-back to a laptop over a single cable helps, but only if the cable and driver behave the same way every time.
• Nobody owns the output. A whiteboard session is only worth having if the result lands somewhere useful: a shared file, the meeting chat, an email. If annotations are wiped when the board sleeps, people stop bothering.
• The built-in computer ages faster than the panel. A slot-in PC or Android platform that misses updates gets slow, loses app support and gets ignored, while the panel itself is still fine.

The same pattern shows up in meeting-room software licences, as we discussed in Microsoft Teams Rooms: Is Your Office Paying for Features Nobody Uses?

Which collaboration features do teams actually use?

Our view, based on how these products are designed rather than on any usage survey (we have run none), is that features get used when they save a step in something the team already does. The table matches each common feature to the behaviour it needs and the cheaper option if that behaviour is missing.

When is a "giant tablet" exactly what you need?

There are rooms where the all-in-one design is the right call. Project rooms where teams sketch flows and mark up plans get daily value from pens and a large canvas. Design and engineering reviews benefit from annotating over shared content instead of describing changes out loud. Training rooms and huddle spaces that host external visitors benefit from wireless sharing that works across Windows, macOS, iOS and Android. Rooms that are mainly for video calls can benefit from an all-in-one that combines the board, camera and Teams Rooms or Zoom Rooms in one unit, provided the room size matches the camera and microphone range.

The Neat Board Pro 65-inch (Price on request) is an example of that approach. Neat lists it with a 65-inch 4K capacitive touchscreen, a pressure-sensing Active Marker, and support for Microsoft Teams, Zoom Rooms and Google Meet. Neat's page also notes that the Teams or Zoom Rooms licences are not included. The MAXHUB XBoard V655T 65-inch (Price on request) takes a similar all-in-one path for Microsoft Teams Rooms. MAXHUB's page describes a Windows 11 IoT PC module with an Intel Core i5-1240P, a 16-mic array and 50-point touch.

How do the options on the market compare?

These products sit at different points between a simple screen and a full collaboration computer. Prices as listed on 25 Oct 2026; supplier-restricted items are shown as price on request.

• Samsung WM65B Flip Pro 65-inch: S$3,900.00. A flip-chart-style board running Tizen, with SmartView+ wireless sharing and USB-C touch-back, according to Samsung.
• Samsung WM65R 65-inch Flip 2: S$1,850.00. Samsung's Flip 2 model, for teams that mainly want a digital flip chart.
• LG 65TR3DJ 65-inch Interactive Digital Board: S$3,465.00. LG lists 20-point touch, six-screen sharing and anti-glare glass.
• MAXHUB XBoard V7 V6550 65-inch + i5 PC: Price on request. A Windows-based board bundled with the PC module it needs.
• Logitech Scribe Whiteboard Camera: Price on request. A different route entirely, covered below.

Is there a cheaper way to get the collaboration benefits?

Often, yes. If the real goal is to let remote participants see what's being written in the room, a whiteboard camera on an ordinary whiteboard can be enough. Logitech says Scribe streams a physical whiteboard into video meetings and uses AI so viewers can see the writing through the presenter. Logitech lists support as a content camera for Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows, Zoom Rooms and Google Meet, and a maximum whiteboard size of 1.2 m by 1.8 m. Pair it with a non-touch commercial display and a wireless presentation system and you have most of the collaboration value without paying for touch.

If the goal is simply wireless sharing, a presentation system like Barco ClickShare or Yealink RoomCast added to an existing display gets you there. We compare these in Wireless Presentation Systems: Convenience or Another IT Headache?

Whichever you choose, check that people can actually read what's on the wall from the back of the room. We cover that in Why Does Your Beautiful New Display Make Presentations Harder to Read?

What should you check before buying an interactive display?

1. Watch three typical meetings in the room. Note how often people write, edit or annotate, and how often they only present. If nobody writes, buy a screen.
2. Decide where whiteboard output goes. Check that the board saves to your approved storage or sends to the meeting, not to a USB stick.
3. Pick one collaboration path. A built-in OS, a Teams or Zoom Rooms system, or a laptop over one cable. Supporting all three confuses users.
4. Plan for the computer inside. Ask who patches it, how long it gets updates and whether the module can be swapped without replacing the panel.
5. Size the camera and microphones to the room. If the room needs a video bar anyway, don't pay twice.
6. Count licences and support. Add room licences, CMS or management fees and warranty terms to a three-year cost.
7. Train people for ten minutes. One short walkthrough on day one does more for adoption than any feature.

Frequently asked questions

Is an interactive display worth it for a small meeting room? Only if people in that room regularly write, sketch or annotate together. For rooms used mainly to present slides or join calls, a commercial display with a video bar or wireless presentation system usually costs less and gets used more.

Do interactive displays need a separate PC? Some do. MAXHUB says its XBoard V7 cannot operate without a PC module, which is sold separately, while Samsung Flip runs Tizen apps on the display itself. Check whether the price you are quoted includes the computer.

Can I use Microsoft Teams Rooms on an interactive display? Yes, on models built for it, such as the MAXHUB XBoard for Microsoft Teams Rooms or Neat Board Pro. A Teams Rooms licence is normally needed on top of the hardware cost.

What is a cheaper alternative to an interactive whiteboard? A physical whiteboard with a whiteboard camera such as Logitech Scribe, plus a non-touch display and wireless sharing, covers most hybrid collaboration needs without paying for touch.

How many touch points do I really need? More touch points matter only when several people write at once. Samsung and LG list 20 points and MAXHUB lists 50 on the boards covered here; for most offices, the whiteboard software and saving workflow matter more than the touch count.