Windows 10X, a modified version of Windows 10, will be rolled out in 2021, according to ZDNet. Enterprises and the education sector will be the first ones to get access to the OS.
Early May, Microsoft hinted that Windows 10X was no longer being developed as an OS for dual-screen devices (such as the Surface Neo), but that they made the switch to single-screen devices. According to ZDNet, the release of the new OS has been postponed from later this year to 2021. Support for dual-screen devices is said to come one year later.
In the spring of 2021 enterprises and the education sector could start using Windows 10X. The previously announced support for Win32 apps in containers has been postponed indefinitely as of now. Most likely we won’t see this feature until 2022 at the earliest, at the same time the OS will be rolled out for dual-screen devices.
Shifting priorities
Microsoft announced the rescheduling of the Windows 10X launch earlier this year. Panos Panay, the head of the Windows branch within Microsoft, cited the corona crisis as the reason for the postponement. According to Panay, the market for dual-screen devices is no longer the same than what they envisioned in October 2019, which meant that a switch had to be made. Due to remote working, laptops and desktops will be used more often, instead of devices with multiple screens.
The shifting priorities also have some consequences for Windows 10. It’s very likely that only one feature update will be rolled out for the OS in 2021, instead of the usual two updates per year.
Tip: Microsoft has lost its grip on the Windows 10 update process