Microsoft Announces “Next Generation of Windows” Following 10X Failure

Microsoft’s CEO, Satya Nadella, oozed confidence and optimism in his address on Build 2021, when unveiling plans on the future development of the Windows operating system:

“We will soon reveal one of the most important updates for Windows of the past ten years,” said the Indian-American.

Although a date has been specified for the update, this is a deliberate step undertaken to improve the economic opportunities for development teams and content creators on Windows.

“I’ve hosted it on my own for the past few months and I’m incredibly excited about the next generation of Windows,” added Nadella.

The company does not want to reveal details of these changes directly at the build conference, instead, a later date is being targeted. Nadella promises, however, that the Windows ecosystem will become an innovative, open platform on which applications can be developed and monetized.

Looking at past leaks and announcements, this could be a reference to the new Microsoft Store. From August 1, 2021, the store will only require a twelve percent share of net sales from games. In addition, Microsoft will loosen the UWP principle and also allow other Win32 applications in the store as .exe or .msi . At the same time, developer studios should be able to use their own third-party networks for in-app purchases and thus reduce store fees.

Revised Windows 10 instead of Windows 10X

Windows itself is constantly being transformed with optical adjustments for a while now. In the most recent May 2021 update, for example, an expanded taskbar with a news feed and weather display has been added. Microsoft also continues to integrate new icons and revised window frames, so it is expected that  Windows 10 should therefore get a more modern look in the future.

The fact that Satya Nadella speaks specifically of the next-generation Windows could, however, result in more than just visual improvements. The company presented a Windows-on-Snapdragon device at Build 2021. The Snapdragon Developer Kit is designed to provide developers with a hardware reference for Windows 10 on ARM projects.

Windows 10X, which was the original intended next major Windows system for dual-screen devices, has in fact been discontinued. Microsoft might want to integrate its functions into standard Windows as an ARM operating system. But all of this remain speculations, until Microsoft makes definitive announcements.