Microsoft kicked off yesterday their annual Build developer conference by talking about the intelligent cloud, and the new ways for developers to take advantage of AI, and Azure. Today, we’re expecting for the second Build 2018 keynote to be much more interesting, and we’ll likely hear more about the consumer, Microsoft 365 and Windows 10 side of things. Here’s what you can expect.
Your Phone
Since Windows CVP Joe Belfiore is scheduled to lead today’s keynote, we’ll likely hear more about the “Your Phone” application which was teased during yesterday’s opening keynote. Belfiore could demo the application, and show us more on how exactly it can enable a seamless transition of content like messages, photos, and notifications across iOS and Android devices. You can also expect for Belfiore to stick to the “multi-sense, multi-device” saying, which was hinted in a Microsoft blog post yesterday.
Microsoft Launcher
Microsoft Launcher has been admired by millions of Android users, and you can expect for Belfiore to address the popularity and announce new features for Launcher today. We’re hoping to see a demo of the Timeline integration that has been promised for Microsoft Launcher on Android, and some more information on how enterprise users can take advantage of it.
Windows Timeline
A big feature introduced in the Windows 10 April 2018 Update is Windows Timeline Since this update just released last week, Belfiore might as well brush up developers on the feature, and remind them how to get it working with their apps. We’re also hoping to hear more about the promised Microsoft Launcher and Timeline integration, and more on how exactly Microsoft plans to integrate Timeline with Edge on iPhone and iPad.
Windows Sets
Windows Sets is one of the core experiences being developed for the upcoming Redstone 5 update, and we’ll likely hear Belfiore address the direction Microsoft is taking the feature in. He will likely highlight core areas of the feature, explain how UWP apps work with Sets, and detail the new Sets integration that is in the Office 365 apps on Windows 10.
Fluent Design
Fluent Design was announced last year at Build 2017, and it has since evolved to be a core area of Windows 10. Again, we’re expecting to hear more about the future of Fluent Design and how developers can get on board with the design language. Specifically, we might hear more about Fluent Design in classic Win32 apps, which was hinted in a Microsoft blog post yesterday.
Progressive Web Apps (PWAs)
Microsoft recently said they would make PWA’s “first-class citizens” in Windows 10, so we’ll likely hear more about this during today’s keynote. You can expect to hear about the Twitter PWA and more about how developers can get on board with PWAs. In fact, we might hear more about PWA improvements, and installation process involving web browsers.
Cloud Clipboard?
Cloud Clipboard was announced at Build 2017, and Microsoft has since been quiet on the feature. It was then part of Microsoft’s “Pick up where you left off” cross-platform idea, and we’ve since spotted patents and references to it in Insider builds. We’re hoping it becomes official today for the next Redstone 5 release.
These are just one small look at some of the things we expect to get discussed during the second major Build 2018 keynote. You’ll also likely hear more about Windows Insider stuff, and Microsoft Office 365, so be sure to keep it locked to OnMSFT for all the day’s news. Microsoft has been full of surprises in the past, and you won’t want to miss any of the action.
