Panos Panay promised “A huge year for Windows”, But for now, what we can tell you about 2021 are that, promises. And some critical bugs in the updates for a change… From Zac Bowden, the editor of Windows Central who has contacts at Redmond headquarters and often misses very little in his forecasts comes bad news: Windows 10X lags. And it may affect the release of updates to the regular version for the desktop.
Microsoft announced Windows 10X in October 2019. It was the first version of the project Windows Core OS, a development that aims to be the future of Microsoft’s operating systems under a modular conception as the main feature, which was destined to govern devices with new form factors such as folding, those that use double screens or flexible screens such as tablets. foldable from its own factory, Surface Neo.
The Neo should have been commercialized in the last quarter of 2020 and did not make it to the market. Not only that. Any trace of the Surface Neo has disappeared from the Microsoft website and the company seems to have shifted the system’s focus to entry-level laptops. Easier to produce and combat the explosion in Chromebook sales.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed projects, events and launches throughout the technology industry, the main reason for the delay of Windows 10X is known. On the one hand the complications mentioned to position dual screen devices and on the other and principally, the running applications.
We have talked about it several times and it was the big problem with fiascos like Surface RT. Windows 10X will natively run universal UWP apps and progressive apps. It should also run Win32 applications through “containers”, that is, using virtualization technologies. This Win32 support (which Microsoft has been thinking about removing for years) is the one that is not ready yet.
It must be taken into account that each application of this type would run inside a container and would be isolated from the central operating system. This can lead to performance problems if not optimized perfectly. And it is that Microsoft has a big problem to solve with the software for Windows.
The result is that Win32 support will not be ready on the initial release of Windows 10X. A problem that will limit the performance of teams that will not arrive until well into the second half of 2021. And that, hopefully, laptops. Folds will be delayed even further, until 2022, according to Zac Bowden.
Beyond Windows 10X
As interesting as this variant, the bulk of consumers care more about updates to the regular version for the desktop. We don’t know a specific release date, but we should have two in spring and fall:
- Windows 10 21H1: This will be a minor update, a mere “Service Pack” with improvements in stability and performance, but without any notable new features. It is in beta and can be tested by any consumer. Today Microsoft has released the trial version for business.
- Windows 10 21H2: the most interesting of this year. It will arrive loaded with news (if the delay of Windows 10X does not prevent it) with special attention to the renewal of the user interface. It is in the preview phase and can be tested by any Windows Insiders consumer or tester.
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