Windows 10 still has a long life ahead of it. Microsoft‘s operating system is increasingly installed on more computers, and thanks to its continuous development the company has no need to think of a successor for this OS. However, Microsoft is working on a series of operating systems derived from it, such as Windows 10X, also known as Windows Lite, designed for computers with few hardware resources. And now, it seems, the company has a new lightweight operating system on its hands: Cloud PC .
Although many official data is not yet known about it, it seems that Cloud PC is a new Microsoft operating system, based on the cloud, that will be able to work without problems on any computer or device, for whatever resources it has, thanks to the cloud.
This new lightweight Windows concept works thanks to the Thin Client concept . Cloud PC users can have Windows 10 running directly on the Azure cloud , using Windows Virtual Desktop technology as a base. This new alternative operating system will be specially designed to give work a new dynamism, a new flexibility, especially when working. Users can always have their computer, data, programs and settings at hand using only a remote client to access it.
This operating system, obviously, is not going to be free. Users will have to pay a Microsoft subscription to access it, and also the price could increase depending on the use made of this new operating system.
For now we do not know more than these little concepts of this new light Windows. It is expected that throughout this year we can learn more, and that the first versions of this Cloud PC will be available in 2021.
Windows 10X, the ace in the sleeve of Microsoft
In addition to Cloud PC, Microsoft continues to work hard to continue shaping its lightweight operating system: Windows 10X. This operating system will be the edition designed for tactile equipment (such as tablets, or certain laptops) with both one and two screens . The development of this OS continues at its own pace, and Microsoft indicates that the edition for single-screen devices will be available next year, in 2021, but that the two-screen edition will not arrive until 2022.
Initially, 10X was going to be focused on running UWP programs. However, the operating system was going to be able to run Win32 applications using virtualization . But Microsoft’s plans may have changed, and it seems that in the end, due to performance problems and battery life, Win32 programs are going to be left out of Windows 10X. We can only use UWP apps downloaded from the Microsoft Store on devices with this system.
This does not completely eliminate support for Win32 programs, as if Microsoft finds a way to optimize it it could be included later. But at launch, as development points out (which will reach the RTM phase in December this year), Win32 virtualization doesn’t seem to be scheduled for now.
How Windows 10X will affect current Windows 10
Windows 10 and 10X are going to be two separate products. Each one will have its own development, its Insider program, and although you can get ideas from each other, they will be different products. However, although there is still no official confirmation, it seems that the arrival of Windows 10X will influence the development of Windows 10 , specifically in the updates.
Starting next year (already facing 2022), Microsoft may change the update models of its system. Windows 10 is currently receiving two types of updates:
- The spring update, a big update, with features.
- The fall update, a patch focused on fixing bugs and improving stability.
Starting with Windows 10X, since Microsoft has to offer the same support to both operating systems, updates may change to the following:
- The spring update will be for Windows 10X only.
- The fall update will be the feature update for Windows 10.
Thus, small updates will be removed and the operating system, instead of updating every 6 months, will do so once a year.
This, we repeat, has not yet been confirmed by Microsoft. But we could see the official confirmation on how 10X will affect the development of Windows 10 in the coming months.
