New versions of the Microsoft Emulator and the Windows 10X emulator image are now available, and you no longer have to be an Insider to use them.
“Today we released new versions of both the Microsoft Emulator and the Windows 10X Emulator Image (Preview) to the Microsoft Store,” Microsoft’s Adam Braden announced. “The updated Microsoft Emulator is version 1.1.54.0 and the updated Windows 10X Emulator Image is version 10.0.19578. This refresh includes many updates to Windows 10X including the Win32 Container.”
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This latest version of the Microsoft Emulator app will now look for emulator images in the Microsoft Store immediately on launch, so you can actually grab the new Windows 10X emulator image from there if you want, and not manually visit the Store. But there’s an even bigger change: You can now install Microsoft Emulator on any Windows 10 PC: You don’t have to be running the Windows 10 Insider Preview. (That said, if you wish to write apps that target Windows 10X via the preview Windows SDK, you must use a Windows 10 Insider Preview build.)
As for the emulator itself, the big news is that legacy desktop applications—that is, Win32 apps—can now participate in Windows 10X’s new windowing model.
“This update applies the windowing model for Windows 10X to your Win32 apps running in the container,” Braden writes. “System-defined window placement ensures that users have a consistent and simplified windowing experience that is tailored and appropriate to a smaller, dual-screen, and touch-friendly device. Some gaps remain and will be addressed in future updates.”