Today at its Surface event in New York, Microsoft finally shared more details about Windows 10X, the new version of Windows 10 designed for the ground up for dual screen devices. The hero device for Windows 10X will be Microsoft’s new Surface Neo, which will feature two 9” screens connected by a 360° hinge.
Surface Neo won’t start shipping until holiday 2020, but it won’t be the only Windows 10X device released next year. Microsoft announced today that ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo are also working on their own dual-screen and foldable devices powered by Windows 10X, which will be coming in the fall of 2020. “The first wave of devices will vary in size, design and specs, and be powered by Intel,” said Eran Megiddo, CVP of Windows and Education today. Surface Neo will also be powered by an Intel Lakefield processor.
That was to be expected, but Windows 10X won’t be available for purchase separately. In other words, you won’t be able to install it on your Windows 10 PC, as the new OS will only ship on new devices that have been built for it.
On the apps front, Windows 10X will be able to run legacy Win32 applications in a container. It’s great that the OS will maintain compatibility with legacy apps, but Microsoft will have to convince developers to update their apps so they can work best on two screens. “We’ll have more to share on that in the coming months,” Megiddo said today.
