At an event in October 2019, Microsoft announced Surface Neo, presented as a two-screen showcase for a new desktop operating system, Windows 10X. Although Neo has been delayed, Windows 10X has evolved into more than just a dual-screen operating system: its goal now is to be a Chrome OS killer – or at least a viable competitor to Google’s school-oriented operating system.
How many screens?
Microsoft has given few official details about Windows 10X, aside from the fact that it is currently focused on single-screen devices. In the most recent blog post on the issue, Microsoft Product Director for Windows and Devices, Panos Panay, said the company “will focus our focus on single-screen Windows 10X devices that leverage the power of the cloud to help our customers work, learn and play in new ways. ”
He goes on to say, “We will continue to look for the right time, together with our OEM partners, to bring dual-screen devices to market.” PCMag contacted a Microsoft representative for more information about the new operating system to come, to which the response was: “Microsoft has nothing to share on the 10X front”.
Exploding Swelling
For any number of screens, Windows 10X dispenses with much of the Windows bloat accumulated in recent years, reducing it to the core and rebuilding from there. It is actually based on what is called a testimony of Windows 10. In the first announcement of the operating system, Panay wrote: “Internally, we call these shared technologies ‘a core’, but what matters most to customers is what they allow. Today, we build desktop PCs, Xbox consoles and HoloLens using this technology. “
One thing worth noting is that Microsoft’s ARM Surface Pro X-based tablet has nothing to do with Windows 10X, even if you are forgiven for confusing the two, as both were announced at the same event. Another thing that is unclear is whether Windows 10X will run on ARM-based hardware, something that would make a lot of sense.
How can you get Windows 10X today?
Microsoft originally stated that “Windows 10X will be available on dual-screen, foldable devices from autumn 2020, in time for the holiday season.” But that date is gone. According to Windows detectives like Zac Bowden of Windows Central and Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet, Windows 10X will only be available pre-installed on devices such as laptops and tablets – as well as Chrome OS and Apple OS. And Microsoft made it clear that there will be no way to upgrade current PCs running Windows 10 to Windows 10X.
However, you can run a test image of the operating system on an emulator available in the Microsoft Store app. To do this, you will need a PC capable of running Hyper-V. After installing the Microsoft Emulator application, install the Windows 10X Emulator image from the same store. The screenshots in this story are from this emulator using the official Microsoft image files and a later version that was leaked, since Windows 10X devices are not yet available, not even for PCMag.
The leaked version is considered almost final and is immensely more polished than the previous one, officially available, although it still has a long way to go – nor does it include an email application. These methods of playing around with the operating system are intended for application developers, not the general public, but that never stopped tech journalists.
Be very clear, however, that everything we describe below and any screenshots based on these pre-release builds are subject to change, and we must retain judgments until the official release.
Windows 10X Applications
As with Chrome OS, apps are the X factor with these streamlined operating systems. While the Google desktop operating system is acceptable for use in the classroom and web browsing, its implementation of web applications and support for Android applications leaves much to be desired. The buy-in of the application developer community is based on a platform’s market share and, according to NetMarketShare and StatCounter, Chrome OS has only between 0.4% and 1.72% of desktop computer users. Windows 10X will have an even steeper hill going up in terms of market share, as it will start from scratch.
That is not quite true, however. Windows 10X will run UWP apps, and the store in the initial preview build looks identical to that of Windows 10. I even managed to play video games downloaded from the Store. But many apps, including old devices like Notepad, have the following notice at the store entrance: “This product does not work on this device.”
Support for traditional Windows applications – known as Win32 applications, not because they’re 32-bit, but because that’s the name of the programming API – it’s in the script. These, like store apps, will run in a container separate from the critical components that run the operating system. And Microsoft has stated that the company is “engaging with our ecosystem of application developers” to produce applications unique to the platform.
The Windows 10X interface
Trial versions of Windows 10X ran painfully slow on a reasonably fast desktop PC (a 3.4 GHz Core i7 system with 16 GB of RAM), due to the need to run it on a virtual machine. The simplified interface has only two icons centered at the bottom of each screen: the Start button (a Windows logo) and an application switcher. They are joined by icons for applications when they are running.
Touch and pen input are first class citizens in Windows 10X. Whenever you slide from bottom to top, this basic menu will appear. You can change which screen the application is running on by tapping its entry on the taskbar. As with normal Windows 10, tapping an app icon minimizes it and tapping it again resizes it. You can’t extend an app across both screens, which seems essential and is easily possible with standard Windows 10.
For the two-screen form of the operating system, Microsoft made a point of mentioning that it adapts to different postures, that is, if you are using devices such as a standard laptop, a two-screen tablet flattened or folded into an inverted V, as you would watch a video. Unfortunately, these are impossible things to test without by having a two-screen device running the operating system.
The Settings menu in the first trial version looks almost identical to that of Windows 10. A somewhat interesting option is Always Show the Taskbar, which displays this feature on both screens. As with Windows (and macOS and all other important operating systems today), there is a dark mode, which can be activated in the Personalization section of Settings.
Notably absent from Windows 10X is Cortana. Even searching the settings or the Start menu for the name of the AI digital assistant did not result in anything. This seems like a step backwards if we’re talking about offering new interaction options, although there are a lot of Cortana haters out there among old-school Windows fanatics. We are directly on the other side of the fence, enjoying the ability to open websites and applications and shut down machines without having to touch the keyboard.
As with normal Windows 10 in Tablet mode, apps in Windows 10X run only on full screen, although you can place apps side by side so that each one occupies exactly half the screen. It simplifies the interface, avoiding the clutter of many odd-sized windows on the desktop.
The Action Center
Like everything else in the new operating system, the Action Center is scaled down, making it look – surprise, surprise – the Chrome OS notification panel. You get quick access to adjusting screen brightness, screen rotation, VPN, video connections and Do Not Disturb mode, among other things.
The Start Menu
As with Windows 10, tapping the Windows key takes you to the Start menu, but, of course, with the touch input being central, you can just tap the Start icon. Note that Windows 10 Live Tiles, which allow apps to add information to the basic icon, have disappeared. The Start menu panel shows a search box at the top, where you can launch applications or web content. This search box includes a microphone icon that allows you to interact with your voice, which is more than can be said about the Windows search box – unless you use Cortana.
File Explorer
The initial two-screen version of Windows 10X shows a simplified version of the existing Windows 10 File Explorer, but without many features that we find useful. Some of them include Quick Access, which floats your recent and frequent items to the top, and viewing options. The latest build is better, adding the Delete, Copy, Cut, Paste and Share buttons, but it still lacks many of the features in Windows 10.
Fortunately you I can pin application icons to the taskbar, so you don’t have to open them whenever you want, for example, to open your web browser.
The Cloud Connection
Like Chrome OS, 10X is a system that prioritizes the cloud: all user files will be synchronized with OneDrive. Strangely, the previous version had no OneDrive apps on the Start menu, no entries in the taskbar, and no entries in Settings. In fact, cloud sync is almost invisible in the initial build, but you can’t use the build later without signing in to a Microsoft account, like one for Outllook.com or Hotmail. This involves privacy issues, but you have many privacy options in your setup, including whether you want to share location, send diagnostic data, or allow apps and websites to use an advertising ID for more personalized ads.
Chrome OS, watch out!
As noted earlier, Windows 10X is now a competitor to Chrome OS, rather than just an operating system designed for two-screen convertible laptops. If Microsoft can deliver a super simple interface, the new operating system could become a valuable competitor.
That said, Windows 10X is far from the pioneer and Chromebooks are already firmly rooted in the education market. Google also had more time to refine, strengthen and expand the capabilities of its lightweight, cloud-connected operating system, while Microsoft has yet to release an official version. We can see a perfectly reliable and feature-rich simplified operating system when Microsoft releases the first version of Windows 10X, but at this point, it’s a case of waiting and seeing.