Microsoft has a big 2021 planned for Windows and Surface

[Karlston]

Microsoft has a big 2021 planned for Windows and Surface

 

It's that time of the year again. Now that we've taken a look back at 2020, it's time to take a look forward at 2021. You might recall that in February, Surface chief Panos Panay took over Windows as well, and one thing that we're definitely expecting to see next year is a renewed emphasis on the operating system. And of course, we'll get new Surface hardware to show it off.

Windows 10X

Windows 10X is finally coming this spring. It was announced back in October 2019 as a new OS for dual-screen devices, and it was supposed to ship in the Surface Neo in 2020. That didn't happen, of course, as Microsoft announced that it was changing the OS to being for single-screen PCs. Panos Panay said that the company wanted to meet customers where they are, even though they'll still need to buy all-new hardware to get their hands on the new OS.

 

For the most part, the OS is ready to ship, as build 20279 should be the RTM build. It won't have Win32 support coming out of the gate, although that should be coming later. In fact, Cloud PC is another thing that Microsoft should have coming in 2021, and this might offer a way to stream Win32 apps on Windows 10X.

 

Rather than the dual-screen glory that was promised, Windows 10X is going to start its life as yet another Chrome OS competitor from Microsoft. We should see it on entry-level devices this spring, and the launch won't be nearly as exciting as we thought it would be a year ago.

Windows 10

 

While Windows 10X won't be as exciting as we thought, Windows 10 proper will be way more exciting than we would have guessed a year ago. According to a report from a few months ago, Microsoft is overhauling the Windows 10 UI. While we don't know exactly what's coming, this should be the next iteration of Fluent Design, codenamed Sun Valley.

 

Another thing that's reportedly coming is support for Android apps in the Microsoft Store. Codenamed Project Latte, no one really knows why Microsoft would do this, especially since it killed off its initial attempt at running Android apps, Project Astoria. But Project Astoria evolved into the Windows Subsystem for Linux, and Android could be another subsystem. Still, even if Android apps show up, don't expect Google services.

 

One other thing that we'll see from Windows is x64 emulation on Snapdragon PCs. While we've had ARM-powered PCs since 2017, there's still a lot of legacy content to migrate over. Soon, these devices will run not just native ARM apps and emulated x86 apps, but emulated x64 apps as well.

 

What's super interesting here is that this should all arrive in the Windows 10 fall 2021 update. In fact, we still don't even know for sure if there will be a spring update or not, and if there is, Microsoft will break from tradition and make it a minor update, like we've seen from the last two fall updates. That's because Iron development is focused on Windows 10X, while Cobalt development will be focused on Windows 10 proper. Moving forward, it's likely that we'll see major updates for Windows 10X in the spring and major updates for Windows 10 in the fall.

Surface predictions

 

Personally, I think that we're going to see a pretty broad range of Surface refreshes this year. The only thing that you can definitely not expect to see is the Surface Neo, as that product is shelved for now. Starting with the most likely, definitely expect to see a Surface Pro 8 and a Surface Laptop 3 launched in January.

 

Another thing that I expect to see sooner rather than later is the Surface Studio 3. The product was using last-gen internals when it launched, and now it's over two years old. If we're revisiting this again for next year's year-ahead article, I'm going to start betting that it's discontinued. The Surface Studio 2 has seventh-generation mobile processors and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU. Intel is up to the 10th-generation processors now, and Nvidia is up to the RTX 30 series, or at least GTX 1600 series.

 

I think that a Surface Pro X 2 is a strong possibility. After Apple launched its ARM-powered Macs, there's been pressure on Qualcomm to build a chip that's more competitive, and I think it will respond in 2021. On top of that, I think Panos Panay will want new hardware to show off the new emulation capabilities when they launch next fall. While the Pro 8 and Laptop 4 are coming in January, I would expect this at an October hardware launch.

 

Going down the list from most possible to least, we could see Surface Go 3. What's interesting is that Intel actually has a new Pentium Gold 7505 from the Tiger Lake family that Microsoft could use if it wanted to. Intel's Y-series chips from the 10th-gen lineups were almost non-existent, so being that the Surface Go 2 has an eighth-gen CPU, a refresh is definitely possible.

 

 

Surface Book 4 is also possible, of course. For some reason, however, Microsoft just doesn't refresh the Surface Book as much. The original launched in October 2015 as part of a big bang hardware launch to coincide with Windows 10's release. Now in 2020, we only got our third iteration. Of course, a Surface Book 4 would include Tiger Lake CPUs and probably a GPU upgrade. I'd file this under 'unlikely but not impossible'.

 

And then there are our new products for 2020, the Surface Duo and Surface Laptop Go. Surface Duo could go either way, being that Microsoft used last-gen hardware in the original. It's reminiscent of the original Surface Pro, which used third-gen Intel processors and got terrible battery life for it, but then Microsoft was back later that same year with the Surface Pro 2. The Redmond firm could easily pump out a new Surface Duo with Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 888 and 5G connectivity, but at the same time, it would make more sense to me if it wants to wait until 2022 when it can release Surface Duo 2 alongside the Surface Neo.

 

Finally, the Surface Laptop Go would be anyone's guess. Microsoft could easily refresh it with Tiger Lake chips if it wanted to, or it could wait a while, given that it's an entry-level product.

 

 

Microsoft has a big 2021 planned for Windows and Surface

[cosy]

This will be great.

If the pics and the content live to the expectations 😁

[pc71520]

10 hours ago, Karlston said:

Microsoft is overhauling the Windows 10  UI.

At last...

[zanderthunder]

16 hours ago, Karlston said:

Another thing that I expect to see sooner rather than later is the Surface Studio 3.

And it will be more interesting if Microsoft decides to put Quadro RTX on higher-end commercial variants or Geforce RTX on higher-end consumer variants, just like what Microsoft did for Surface Book 3.

[mood]

What to expect from Microsoft and Windows 10 in 2021

 

 

With 2021 finally here, Microsoft is planning on releasing some exciting new features and updates this year for Windows 10 operating system and other products.

 

Microsoft has already confirmed that Windows 11 wouldn't be released, and the company plans to update Windows 10 with new variants, features, improvements, and fixes.

 

Additionally, Microsoft will continue to develop new Surface products with Windows 10, Windows on ARM, and Windows 10X.

Windows 10 21H1

The first Windows 10 update of the year is codenamed version 21H1, and it could be released later this spring with build number 19043.

 

Unlike the May 2020 Update (version 2004), Windows 10 version 21H1 is expected to be a minor release with quality improvements, bug fixes, and security enhancements for business customers.

 

This means that it will be a small update that can be installed quickly, hopefully with fewer issues than a more extensive update with many new features.

Windows 10X

After 21H1, Microsoft plans to launch its highly-anticipated modular OS called 'Windows 10X', initially unveiled for dual-screen products.

 

While the dual-screen optimized version of Windows 10X is on hold, Microsoft is now trying to get Windows 10X to work on the single-screen devices for Spring 2021.

 

 

Windows 10X has been updated to meet the growing needs of affordable low-end hardware in the education market and is rumored to debut on $600 range devices.

 

According to Microsoft, Windows 10X comes with a new Start Menu experience and an attractive set of colored icons to offer a simple experience with fewer customization options.

Windows 10 21H2 'Sun Valley'

After 21H1 and 10X, Microsoft plans to release the '21H2' update for Windows 10. As typical for Microsoft's release schedule, Windows 10's 21H2 should land in the fall of 2021 with a new user interface refresh codenamed "Sun Valley."

 

This update will be a full-featured update that includes numerous improvements for the Start Menu, Taskbar, Action Center, and more.

 

 

For example, Microsoft said that it's exploring new design ideas with rounded corners and Fluent Design for app menus and elements, such as the ListView, buttons, sliders, etc.

 

 

Likewise, Microsoft is also beta testing a new animation for Windows 10's app windows, including UWP apps and legacy apps.

Cloud PC

As we reported in December, Microsoft is developing a new virtualized Windows PC experience called 'Cloud PC' that will allow business customers to run their personal desktop in the cloud and access it remotely using their devices.

 

 

Cloud PC is likely to be a part of the company's "Windows as a Service" tagline, and it will also enable Win32 apps streaming support on Windows 10X.

 

Cloud PC won't replace any existing services, and it will be offered as a paid service for enterprise customers who want to access their Windows PC from anywhere at any time.

Android streaming support

Reports have suggested that Microsoft is creating an Android subsystem for Windows 10 to enable native support for Android apps. Microsoft is also working on a new developer tool that would allow Android apps to be distributed via the Microsoft store in MSIX package.

Microsoft Surface products

In addition to new Windows updates, Microsoft is also planning to refresh the Surface lineup with two new additions - Surface Pro 8 and Surface Laptop 4. While the Surface Pro 8 (2021) is expected to use Intel Tiger Lake CPUs, Surface Laptop 4 will be offered with both Intel and AMD options.

 

Surface Laptop 4 would come with AMD Ryzen 4000 processors and Intel Tiger Lake-U CPUs according to leaked benchmarks. Surface Pro 8, on the other hand, is expected to use Intel Tiger Lake CPUs with up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of internal SSD storage.

 

 

Source: What to expect from Microsoft and Windows 10 in 2021