Microsoft had promised to deliver an event that will be remembered for a long time and it did just that. Today at its Surface event, the company introduced expected refreshes of various Surface devices and then pushed us into the future of dual-screen machines. To make these dual-screen PCs fluid, useful, and possible, the Windows maker has introduced Windows 10X, which it calls "an expression of Windows 10."
While we have shared details of this operating system in our earlier piece, if you are just looking for the highlights, here is what we know right now in a few bullet points.
Windows 10X 2020 - some of the highlights
- Optimized to deliver battery life that could support two screens
- No learning curve for Windows 10 users
- LEGACY APPS! Windows 10X supports running Win32 applications in a container
- "Flexible experiences with a wide range of input types and hardware postures"
- New Start menu (more of an app launcher in Windows 10X)
- No Live Tiles
- New Wonder Bar (very much like Apple's Touch Bar)
- New Task Bar
- Intelligently opens apps: click a link in an email, it will open that link in the second screen
- Possible focus on cloud-connected experiences
- Will be introduced through Surface Neo and dual-screen devices from HP, Lenovo, ASUS, and Dell (powered by Intel chips)
- Releasing in Fall 2020
- Is NOT an OS upgrade
While most of these are the official highlights from Microsoft, Windows 10X will also deliver a new Start Menu experience, moving away from Live Tiles. Additionally, this twist on the traditional Windows 10 makes the Windows Update process a little less painful, as Microsoft hopes to make the updating process invisible according to earlier reports.
It is yet to be seen how these dual-screen devices pan out once they land in the market. As far as the onstage demos are concerned, Microsoft's Surface Neo did look quite a useful product that could push the boundaries and segue into a new era of devices with a focus on mobile work, or productivity on-the-go.
