Top 10 Microsoft Stories of 2017 (Premium)

2017 was another epic year for Microsoft. Here are my picks for the top 10 Microsoft stories of 2017.

Note: To be clear, I cover personal technology. So it’s likely that others might pick some stories about Azure, Office 365 Commercial, or whatever.

#1: Windows 10 on Snapdragon

Microsoft announced in December 2016 that it would bring Windows 10 the Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 by the end of 2017, and while it didn’t technically meet that goal, we spent the entire year trying to figure out what this means for Windows 10 and PCs in general.

My most important contribution to this story happened way back in March, when I wrote that Microsoft’s big bets on ARM are really about Intel. And while I didn’t reveal this at the time, I will tell you now that this insight isn’t so much an insight as it is an explanation based on insider information. Microsoft has partnered with Qualcomm specifically because it feels that Intel needs a kick in the ass. And it is correct on that score.

#2: Microsoft’s bold new strategy for Windows 10

While Windows 10 S and concerns about Windows as a Service (WaaS) absolutely make the list for 2017, as you’ll see below, there was a bigger Windows 10 story this year. And I don’t think it’s gotten enough press: Many of the most exciting new features we’re going to see in Windows 10 going forward are designed to make your (non-Microsoft) smartphone better.

Think about that for a second. And then consider the “Continue on PC” features that Microsoft is bringing to various mobile experiences, like Cortana and Microsoft Edge. Think about Timeline, arguably the biggest new feature of the Redstone 4 update, and how it is for Windows 10 andAndroid and iOS. Put simply, Microsoft is positioning Windows 10 for a role that actually makes sense in the post-PC world. And by making mobile devices better, it is also making Windows 10 better in the process.

#3: Windows as a disservice

With hundreds of millions of people still using Windows 7, Microsoft has another Windows XP on its hands. But it’s insistence on hammering Windows 10 users with constant software updates—a strategy it calls Windows on a Service (Waas)—may play an even bigger role in alienating its key customer base: Businesses. This year, Microsoft formally decided that it would upgrade Windows 10 twice a year, or double the rate at which Android and iOS are updated. And this is a huge mistake, one that Microsoft will have to deal with in the years ahead.

#4: Windows 10 S

This year, Microsoft revealed and released a new Windows 10 product edition called Windows 10 S. And this is another area in which I have extensive insider information, which helped me to deliver better explanations of the strategy than you could find anywhere else.

Of course, the big story here is that Windows 10 S simply isn’t ready, and isn’t something that any user could or would want to use. But that will change over time. Indeed, I believe that Windows 10 S is the future of Windows, and that together with the Always Connected PC initiative is the future of PCs in general.

#5: Surface reliability concerns

Microsoft’s Surface lineup makes my list twice, and unfortunately for Microsoft, the bad news was the bigger story: Consumer Reports in August said that Surface had the industry-worst failure rate in the PC industry. Microsoft mounted a public defense of Surface, but in another bit of insider advantage, I was able to report the far more nuanced story that Microsoft was communicating internally: Surface really did have massive reliability problems—stemming back to Surfacegate, from 2016—but its own data showed that more recent devices were better, and that customers who stuck with Surface loved Surface.

The problems were so serious that rumors—denied by Microsoft—started that the firm would cease Surface production within two years. My take? I think that Microsoft’s 2017 Surface PCs are far more reliable than their predecessors, and that you can trust Microsoft and Surface.

#6: Broken promises

At Build 2017 in May, Microsoft promised a number of exciting new features that it said, repeatedly, would appear in the next version of Windows 10, the Fall Creators Update. It then proceeded to not ship any of those features in that update, and publicly, said, repeatedly, that it had never made any promises like that.

Oops. Yes it did.

Without getting too far into the weeds here, Microsoft sort of learned its lesson over the course of 2017. One of the big new features it promised, Story Remix, did appear in an app update coincidental with the release of the Fall Creators Update. And when Terry Myerson revealed announced that Insiders would soon be testing Timeline and Sets, two other new features, he did (vaguely) admit that either might not make the next version (Redstone 4). Baby steps are still steps, folks.

Still, there are hurt feelings and more missing features, like a promised cloud-based clipboard. And given Microsoft’s various retreats, it’s understandable why some will not trust them now.

#7: Xbox One X

Sony’s PlayStation 4 may be handily outselling the Xbox One, but Microsoft made a major leap forward by delivering the first true 4K video game console in the Xbox One X. And it is a monster: Every game looks and plays better on the new console, and a growing selection of games that are specifically enhanced for Xbox One X look better than anything that developers can muster on the lackluster PS4 Pro.

The Xbox One X is, as I wrote, a game changer. Literally.

#8: A year of new Surface hardware

After a curiously quite year in 2016, Microsoft ramped up its Surface release schedule dramatically in 2017. And while the firm is still tip-toeing into the future by ignoring modern technologies like USB-C and Thunderbolt 3, the 2017-era devices are still quite exciting and quite desirable.

First up was the new Surface Pro (2017), which Microsoft should have simply named Surface Pro 5. This was quickly followed by the Surface Laptop, which I eventually described as “gorgeous to look at, pleasant to the touch, and a joy to use.” And then, finally, late in the year, the unexpected Surface Book 2, now in two display sizes: This PC is a monster, a portable workstation and gaming rig.

When you couple these new PCs with a slate of interesting new peripherals—including Surface Keyboard, Surface Mouse, and Surface Precision Mouse—you can only arrive at one conclusion. 2017 was the best year for Surface hardware, ever.

#9: Windows Mixed Reality

Terry Myerson spent most of 2017 claiming that Windows Mixed Reality—previously called Windows Holographic—was “the next wave.” Until he appeared at a Qualcomm event in December and then said that Windows 10 on Snapdragon (my number one Microsoft story for the year) was the next wave.

No matter.

Windows Mixed Reality may still see limited success—VR still makes the most sense on PC for games—but it is important to the Windows 10 platform nonetheless. It levels the playing field by putting VR capabilities right into the platform. This had led to falling prices—as has already happened with every competing VR headset—and has made VR simpler and easier than ever before. And when you add in SteamVR compatibility, Windows Mixed Reality becomes somewhat of a no-brainer. Assuming, that is, that you are interested in VR.

#10: RIP

Microsoft killed a number of products and service in 2017, the two most notable being Groove Music Pass and Outlook.com Premium. But there was more.

Microsoft also killed Cache, Word Flow, the Kinect, Facebook login in Skype, Windows Essentials, and probably more this year. Hey, I’m only human.

And no, Microsoft did not kill Windows phone this year. That happened in 2015.

But wait, there’s more

Were there other big Microsoft stories from 2017 that I consider adding to this list? You bet. Some of the stories I looked at included Microsoft’s response to Chromebook in education, Cortana’s highs and lows, and how the firm finally figured out Xbox One Dashboard performance this year. All are interesting. But I feel pretty good with the list as-is.