This article is from WeChat official account:CSDN (ID: CSDNnews), author: Su Mi, title picture from: Microsoft

The clock is set back on October 2, 2019. At the Surface New Product Launch Conference, Microsoft released a number of products. The finale was the Surface Neo, Microsoft’s first foldable Surface computer, which is equipped with The newly designed operating system Windows 10X, this operating system uses container technology to support all Win32 applications. In addition, it is also optimized for dual-screen scenarios, and includes icons such as the start menu and search bar. Redesigned to provide very flexible accessories and hardware support. At that time, once it was released, while earning enough users’ attention, many people commented that with this operating system, Microsoft will once again subvert the shape of the PC.

However, after less than two years, Microsoft recently announced that will no longer continue the development of Windows 10X, but the technology developed based on Windows 10X in the past will not be directly abandoned. But it will be integrated into Windows 10 and other products.

1. Windows 10 is in the lead, why does Microsoft develop Windows 10X?

As we all know, Microsoft has established its own unique core competitiveness and brand with the Windows operating system, and has also led the PC era. At the beginning of the digital economy era, Microsoft announced in 2015 that Windows 10 will be the last standalone version of Windows, with subsequent updates and maintenance in the form of Windows as a service. So how did Windows 10X start?

I still remember that in early 2019, there were many media reports that Microsoft is developing a lightweight version of Windows 10, internally code-named Lite, which is designed to run PWA and Windows 10 application store applications. In October of the same year, Microsoft officially announced Windows 10X, and many people think it is MicrosoftInternal continuation of the Lite project.

It turns out that it is.

To a certain extent, Windows 10X is a simplified version of Windows 10. It is based on Windows Core OS(WCOS).

So what is WCOS? According to WindowsCentral reports, since the beginning of 2017, Microsoft has started to develop a Windows Core OS(WCOS), and it has been in use for a long time. Adopting OneCore’s shared code and building a modern, no-legacy operating system on top of it. Together, Windows Core OS and CShell allow Microsoft to quickly create a new version of Windows 10, and to quickly and easily share standard components and functions between different device types and WCOS versions. In this regard, Microsoft calls WCOS the future of Windows.

Therefore, based on Windows 10 and WCOS, Microsoft has simplified many Windows 10 functions, such as file explorer, etc., and brought Windows 10X.

From the naming of Windows 10X, it is not difficult to see that X also represents 10 in Roman numerals. “Windows 10 10”, as the name implies, The original intention of the system was born for dual-screen devices. It means that it is not a system for ordinary devices. It is reported that Windows 10X will only be released on new hardware devices, and systems such as Windows 10 cannot be updated to Windows 10X through upgrades.

2. Windows 10X: From postponement to announcing the cessation of research and development

However, over time, the development of Windows 10X seems to be a bit “thunder and rain.”

Remember in 2019At the beginning of the birth of Windows 10X in 2016, Microsoft stated that the system can run on dual-screen and foldable devices. It also specifically designed the system to be modular and optimized for these devices at the software design level. At the same time, it said, The first Windows 10X device will be available in the fall of 2020.

However, on May 4, 2020, Panos Panay, Chief Product Officer of Microsoft Windows Devices, issued an announcement stating:

The innovation of Windows 10 will be accelerated to ensure that Windows devices are the best way to work, study, and play. In addition, with the increase in external attention, the priority of Windows has also changed. Our vision for new dual-screen Windows devices is very different from last October. We will continue to put customer needs first and focus on meeting user needs. Our customers need to use cloud power more than ever. Now is the time Advancing this demand in different ways.

With the flexibility of Windows 10X, we will shift our energies to single-screen Windows 10X devices that will use the power of the cloud to help customers work, study, and play in new ways. These single-screen devices will be the first batch of Windows 10X products we deliver to customers. In the future, we will continue to work with OEM partners to find the right time to bring dual-screen devices to the market.

In July, Microsoft once again announced that the Windows 10X operating system and third-party OEM equipment will be postponed. At the same time, there is news that single-screen Windows 10X may not be released until the spring of 2021, and the version with dual-screen support may even wait until 2022.

Now that the spring of 2021 has passed, John Cable, the head of Microsoft’s Windows service and delivery, announced the final outcome of Windows 10X in an announcement on May 18, telling users that there is no need to wait any longer, because “Windows 10X has been integrated Go to other products”:

After a year of exploration and discussions with customers, we realized that Windows 10X technology can be more useful than we initially thought, and it can provide services to more customers. Therefore, we have reached a consensus that Windows 10X technology should not be limited to only one partclient.

We did not bring Windows 10X products to market in 2021 as originally planned, but used our lessons so far to accelerate the integration of fundamental and key 10X technologies into other parts of Windows and the company’s products. In fact, some of these technologies have been embodied in the Windows Core of the Windows Insider preview version. For example, we are integrating new container technology into products such as Microsoft Defender Application Guard to enhance the Voice Typing experience and more.

The announcement of this announcement also means that Windows 10X, which is regarded as a strong competitor of Google ChromeOS, is “dead”.

3. Why does Windows 10X fail?

Looking back at the development of Windows 10X now, from high-key entry to low-key exit, the main reasons for its failure are as follows:

One, the location is unknown. From the initial deployment in dual-screen devices, the main goal in the middle is single-screen devices, and then to the current integration into other products, it is not difficult to see that Microsoft’s internal positioning of Windows 10X has not been clear, and this may also be The real reason that caused Windows 10X to end in failure.

Secondly, the lack of ecology. The most critical element for the development of operating systems is ecology. Previously, Microsoft promised that Windows 10X will use container technology to support all Win32 applications. However, after foreign media tested the RTM candidate version of Windows 10X, it was found that the system cannot run Win32 applications. It does not have command lines, control panels, and so on. Therefore, if you overthrow the Win32 ecosystem and rebuild a brand new one, it is not that simple to talk about. This is also an important reason why only a few of the hundreds of operating systems can become mainstream.

Third, the current timing and market environment may not be suitable for Windows 10X to survive. In Microsoft’s original vision, Windows 10X will be equipped with dual-screen computers and other new devices to enter the market.However, now that Windows, macOS, and ordinary computer equipment on the PC side have met the daily needs of users, hard-needed application scenarios are needed to give birth to Windows 10X quickly, and it does not mean that Windows 10X wants to challenge Windows 10. Big.

Four. Conclusion

Therefore, although Windows 10X has a certain degree of innovation, its applicable scenarios will not be the present, perhaps the future, or perhaps it will never appear.

At the moment, after Microsoft announced that it would stop the development of Windows 10X, it has also refocused its attention and energy on Windows 10. According to foreign media reports, the upcoming “Sun Valley” update of Windows 10 will bring major UI updates, from which we may be able to see some technologies that have been ported from Windows 10X.

Reference:

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2021/05/18/how-to-get-the-windows-10-may-2021-update/< /span>

https://petri.com/microsoft-shelves-windows-10x-it-is-not-shipping-in-2021

This article is from WeChat official account:CSDN (ID: CSDNnews), Author: Su Mi