On Wednesday Microsoft launched the Windows 10 X operating system. The latest OS is expected to be available in the late part of 2020. The Redmond-based tech titan developed the Windows 10 X operating system specifically for dual-screen devices like the Surface Neo.
Microsoft's Windows 10 X is a part of its multiyear journey to improve the architecture of Windows to make it more modular just like what we have already seen in Surface Hub, HoloLens 2, and the gaming console Xbox. During the Surface event held in New York City, Microsoft executives claimed that this particular operating system is specially designed to power devices with dual screens.
Previously concealed under the code name Centaurus, the Microsoft Surface Neo was reportedly demonstrated several months earlier. Many tech enthusiasts have previously speculated that the device might run on a lighter version of Windows built on Microsoft's Windows Core OS, which is the successor of OneCore. This way, Windows would be more modular to function across desktops, phones, headsets, and other devices, just like the Chrome OS.
Carmen Zlateff, the company's leader of software experience recently stated during the Surface event that Microsoft's goal is to introduce a new era of mobile productivity and creativity across a couple of screens. Windows 10X backs all Windows apps including Microsoft Office, Zlateff noted. The new OS also features spanning that lets users stretch applications across two screens.
For instance, if your email is open in one screen when you click on the link, it will open on the other screen without interfering with the inbox. If for example, you are viewing a TV series on one screen you can position it at the bottom of the toolbar to do other things. Techcrunch reports that Microsoft emphasizes that the Windows 10X is not a new operating system but rather a different take on Windows 10 to make it more adaptable to other form factors.
In other words, there is no standalone copy of Widows 10X and the only way that you can have it is if you have a Microsoft dual-screen device. Through Windows 10 core technology modularization, the company can execute things such as taking the Start Menu and displaying that in HoloLens. While this is for now exclusive on dual-screen devices, it is highly likely that some of this work will flow back into the PC version of Windows 10.
This has happened with some of the projects that the company did in the past. There is no confirmed release date for this new operating system. But, according to the company, the Windows 10X will be available in the Q3 or Q4 of 2020.
