It’s about time that we received foldable computers and they are finally here. And surprise surprise they will be featuring windows 10. Well, not exactly Windows 10 to be precise. The foldable computers will now sport Windows 10X which is a fully functional windows operating sub system to power dual screen laptops and folding PC’s.
In the process of its development, this operating system was code named Santorini and is based on an almost secretively subtle Windows Core operating system.
To put it simply for what it is, Windows core OS is just a stripped down and simplified version of Windows that can be modulated to meet the requirements of different devices.
Why is Windows 10X Here ?
One question that everyone who has heard about Windows 10X is asking is why is windows 10X here ?.
What is also worth asking is what happened with windows 10S ?.
Are they same ?.
Windows 10X for all intends and purposes is designed purely for dual screen laptops and foldable computers.
As far as what was the need for a new OS is considered, Microsoft just released a blog post depicting that.
A per Microsoft, people are increasingly expecting a lot of flexibility from their PC.
Till now the use cases demanded performance and portability as far as laptops is considered.
But with things going digital the way they are people’s demands from their devices is going beyond performance and portability.
Or it would be better to say the demand is stretching its boundary from just performance to flexibility, capability and productivity.
And as such new hardware and software capabilities need to come in picture.
Windows 10X is an expression of Windows 10 in that direction.
Is Windows 10X similar to Windows 10S ?
For people who don’t know this.
Windows 10S is also a stepped down modular version of Windows 10 which was primarily targeted at making Windows faster.
This was made possible by taking out effects and capabilities from the OS that may not be essential for devices that the OS would run on.
It was seen as a step from Microsoft to create an operating system similar to google’s Chrome OS to provide faster, responsive user experience two people well-versed with Windows 10.
Microsoft Surface 1st gen laptops were one of the first devices to be powered by Windows 10S.
The Windows 10S was in place to run on devices with comparatively less powerful hardware configurations and also to revive older hardware and bring them back to life.
- Also Read : iPhone 11 : The Business Side Of Things.
So although the question whether Windows 10X is similar to Windows 10S is very relevant but the answer is no.
As per Microsoft the Windows 10X is a modular Windows 10 operating system very specific to fold-able PCs.
Microsoft also says that Windows 10X offers “newly implemented support for running win32 applications in a container”.
That’s just a fancy way of saying that you won’t just be limited to Universal Windows Platform apps (UWP).
That means you will have the freedom to explore apps outside of the windows ecosystem as it were.
When Will Windows 10X Be Available & What Devices Will It Power ?.
As per latest news, Windows 10X is currently scheduled to launch in the fall of 2020.
What we know for sure is Windows 10X will power Microsoft’s Surface Neo and computers from partners Asus, Lenovo, Dell and HP.
Each of these devices will be powered by Intel. The Surface Neo specifically will be powered by Intel’s Lakefield chips.
Lenovo has confirmed that its a foldable Thinkpad X1 will be using Windows 10X when it launches.
Project precog is Asus’s dual-screen AI-powered concept PC that is rumored but not confirmed to have Windows 10X.
In any case you should not expect Windows 10X on conventional laptops.
So What Can Windows 10X Do ?
There are not a lot of reports over the specifics as to how Windows 10X will operate and what are the new things it is going to introduce.
But in the October event of Microsoft, it shared some of the features that should make dual screen devices handy and easy to access.
One of those features is the easy access to search.
Another very interesting feature is that when a program is opened it will show up on the side of the device depicting where it was invoked.
And if now you want the app to be on both the screen you can pinch it and Drag it to the centre to expand across the device.
Microsoft refer to this process as “spanning”.
With a Bluetooth keyboard, (it’s worth mentioning here that Surface Neo has a magnetic one that covers some part of the display) a new “wonder bar” is invoked which has a sufficient room for a touch bar, emojis, a smaller screen or some other menus.
The extra space can also be used for multi tasking by having calendars, documents or apps such as Outlook opened.
This will increase productivity as you will not feel the need to switch back and forth between these apps.
Windows 10X may also include features such as seamless updates, support for 5G and LTE much more security and consistent performance.
Other features such as cloud connectivity, ability to fit on several form factors, input from pen and touch are also something that we can inherently expect to be incorporated in Windows 10X.
When Will Developers Have Their Hands On It ?
Microsoft says that the precise reason for introducing Surface Neo early was to empower developers to build new experiences for the multiple screens.
Let’s keep our eyes and ears open for other updates that may fall upon us for Windows 10X.
And perhaps we will hear all about it at the next Microsoft event which will take place anywhere between May 19 and May 21 in Seattle in 2020.
