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This is the week we’ve all been waiting for. In just a few short days, starting at 9am PDT on Wednesday April 29th, Microsoft will kick Windows 10 development revelations into high gear when Microsoft executives open the conference with the first of two keynotes. We’ll be there, of course, soaking in the keynotes and digging for news in the sessions and in the hallways, and waiting right along with you to see exactly what Microsoft really reveals in this, the “most important” of all its conferences to date.
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We’re expecting to hear new hardware news, and that could range from new phones to new flagship phones to lots of 3rd party announcements to something surprising and unexpected, like a new Surface Pro 4. We’re also sure to hear more about HoloLens, and lots of rah rah around the Surface 3. But the big news should all center around Windows 10.
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Microsoft has been making a big deal about getting Windows Insiders early access to Windows 10 Technical Preview builds, but with a “summer” launch date looming large, it’s time for Microsoft to step up its game. Spartan is a barely useable browser right now, as are the new official apps, like Mail and Calendar. Windows 10 itself is a long way off from “shipping”, although the old days when once a product shipped, it was “done” are probably over for good. Still, we should hear a lot this week about moving Windows 10 forward, whether it’s with new builds, or new announcements.
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We should also hear a lot about Cortana, and how Bing is evolving to exist all across Windows and Microsoft, and in the spirit of “One Microsoft”, we expect to get at least some Xbox news, too.
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Of course Build won’t be all about consumer news, and day two of the keynotes will be full of Azure and Visual Studio news and demos, enough to keep the developers, who unlike the tech press actually pay for entrance the conference, interested if not happy.
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What are you expecting from Build? Are you expecting to be blown away, just satisfied, or disappointed?
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Microsoft will have live webcasts for each keynote, beginning at 9am PDT (GMT -7) on Wednesday, you can watch on Channel 9 or on the Build homepage. Late last week Microsoft released a new mobile Build app, which has since been updated, replacing last year’s session info with a simple “Coming Soon” placeholder, so we’re still waiting for an actual schedule release.
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Microsoft has just fired up a Build subreddit, and you can follow the official Build Twitter account at @bldwin. Of course don’t forget to follow @winbetadotorg, too, for all the latest new from Build and beyond.
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