Welcome back to our weekly Windows 10 news recap, in which we recap the top news stories regarding Windows 10 for the week. Let’s dive straight in.
Leaked video gives us our closest look yet at HoloLens UI
This week, we saw a new leak surrounding the upcoming HoloLens development kits, more specifically, a video showcasing the HoloLens UI in detail we haven’t yet seen. Referred to the “HoloShell”, this UI is basically the Start Menu and Apps List for the device, much like on Windows 10 for PCs and phone.
This is our best look yet at the HoloLens experience in real-world use, an experience we’re not entirely sure Microsoft is ready to showcase to the public. We think it looks very awesome, and can’t wait to get our hands on a HoloLens device as soon as possible. Until then, do you like the HoloLens UI? Let us know below.
Windows 10 Redstone build 14271 released to Insiders
Also this week, a new Windows 10 Redstone insider build was released to the fast ring, bringing a number of welcome fixes and under-the-hood changes reported by Windows Insiders on previous builds. No new features are present in this past weeks build drop, but we can’t always have nice things, so that’s okay.
Windows 10 Redstone is set to launch to the public sometimes in the Summer, with a second Redstone update arriving at some point in the fall. The first Redstone release is expected to be a major one, introducing a number of new features and changes to the operating system. Did you download the new build?
Microsoft confirms the death of Project Astoria, focusing on other bridges instead
In sadder news, Microsoft confirmed that the Windows App Bridge under the name Project Astoria had been killed in favor of its brother, Project Islandwood. Astoria was the bridge that allowed developers to port and run Android apps on the Windows 10 Mobile platform, but Microsoft says offering multiple bridges that do similar things was confusing for developers. So instead, they dropped Astoria and kept Islandwood, allowing developers to port iOS apps instead.
Microsoft said in an official statement:
We also announced the Windows Bridge for Android (project “Astoria”) at Build last year, and some of you have asked about its status. We received a lot of feedback that having two Bridge technologies to bring code from mobile operating systems to Windows was unnecessary, and the choice between them could be confusing. We have carefully considered this feedback and decided that we would focus our efforts on the Windows Bridge for iOS and make it the single Bridge option for bringing mobile code to all Windows 10 devices, including Xbox and PCs. For those developers who spent time investigating the Android Bridge, we strongly encourage you to take a look at the iOS Bridge and Xamarin as great solutions.
Microsoft testing Project Centennial version of Office 2016
And finally, it was revealed this week that Microsoft is currently testing a Project Centennial version of Microsoft Office 2016, which for those who don’t know, is the Windows App Bridge that allows developers to port full Win32 apps over to the Windows Store for packaging and deploying onto Windows 10 machines.
It’s exciting to see Microsoft planning to port more of its first party apps over to its 3 Windows 10 app bridges. Project Centennial makes it easy to port Win32-based apps over to the Windows Store, allowing for easy one click-installs for consumers and easy app updates from developers in the future, as well as other benefits such as live-tile support and Windows 10 integration.
So there you have it, this weeks news in a nutshell. What was your favorite? Let us know below.
