Windows 10X: All You Need To Know! (RTM, Release Date, User Interface Improvements)

Windows 10X is finally done! It has been released to manufacturing (RTM), and will be appearing on new devices soon. But what exactly is this new version of Windows, and how does it compare to the standard Windows 10? Watch my video to find out.

--
Hey, if you enjoyed this video, please SUBSCRIBE to HandyAndy Tech Tips for more tech news!
--

IMAGE / ARTICLE REFERENCES (as indicated by number in bottom right corner of the screen):
[1] https://news.softpedia.com/news/windo...
[2] https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexpe...
[3] Nissan Leaf ZE1 2018, under the hood, Reinhard Müller, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
[4] https://www.extremetech.com/computing...
[5] Between two cloud layers, Mattwillmarron, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
[6] https://www.windowslatest.com/2020/11...

--

Windows 10X was originally developed for use on dual screen devices, such as the Surface Duo and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, both of which currently run Android.

But now Microsoft have changed their priorities and will also ship the new operating system on inexpensive single screen devices, like those which currently run Chrome OS. A blog post on the Windows Experience Blog suggests that the coronavirus induced economic downturn may have been the reason for this change of mind.

So, what are the main features of Windows 10X? Well, to find out, I downloaded the Microsoft Emulator, and installed an image of the Windows 10X Insider Preview. Both are available free from the Microsoft Store.

The first thing you’ll notice is the redesigned Start menu, which gets rid of the live tiles and goes with a sleek grid of icons.

This is emblematic of a broader theme, because Microsoft is trying to clean up the interface throughout the entire OS. They are achieving this by redesigning a lot of the pre-installed apps – like File Explorer and Notepad – using the WinUI framework. File Explorer in particular gains a more modern appearance, but it comes at the expense of some functionality.

Other apps, like Photos, Calendar and Calculator, already have WinUI interfaces in the standard version of Windows 10, so they are pretty much unchanged.

The new taskbar breaks the convention of having the Start button at the left of the screen. It’s now located in the centre, as is the Task View button, with the icons of currently open apps appearing between the two. You’ll also notice that there is no system tray; instead, you just get a more compact version of the Action Center.

So, the interface looks different, but what about the changes under the hood? Well, here’s where we come to the biggest disadvantage of Windows 10X: it can only run Universal Windows Platform or UWP apps. If you need to run traditional Win32 programs, then you can, but you’ll have to stream them from Azure using Microsoft’s forthcoming Cloud PC platform.

According to the rumour mill, it will work in a similar way to Windows Virtual Desktop. This is currently used by enterprise customers to create virtual machines loaded with custom software and deploy them securely in the cloud. Cloud PC will be a consumer-focused version of this technology that is easier to use.

Still, it does raise some red flags for me. Virtualised apps are unlikely to offer the same kind of performance or user experience, and they require a reliable Internet connection. Also, the idea of a Windows OS that is incompatible with a lot of popular software has an uncomfortable resemblance to Windows RT, which as we all know was a market failure.