Microsoft has reportedly made major changes to its strategy for Windows 10X this week. The company informed employees of the new change in strategy internally yesterday, and it affects the upcoming Surface Neo, too.
Mary Jo Foley first reported that Microsoft is now changing its focus for Windows 10X from dual-screen, foldable devices to single-screen devices. That also means the company’s Windows 10X device, the Surface Neo, may no longer be launched on Holiday 2020 as originally promised.
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The news comes just weeks after Surface lead Panos Panay took charge of the Windows team at Microsoft. The company’s new strategy focuses on bringing Windows 10X to existing single-screen devices first, while Microsoft continues to work on virtualization features to get classic Win32 apps to work better on Windows 10X. “Officials didn’t discuss how well/badly Win32 apps worked when virtualized on 10X, but the inside word was the team had a long way to go to make this something “normal” users would understand and accept, as compatibility levels were not great,” said Mary Jo Foley.
The change in plans means Microsoft’s dual-screen Windows 10X device, the Surface Neo, is no longer set for a 2020 launch. The company’s Android-powered dual-screen phone, the Surface Duo, is still apparently planned for later this year. Microsoft also won’t allow its partners to release dual-screen Windows 10X devices this year.
With Microsoft now focusing on single-screen devices, it’s possible we could get a preview of Windows 10X for existing devices soon. Brad Sams reports that the company is planning to release preview builds of Windows 10X, possibly at its Build conference, in May.
shameermulji
<blockquote><em><a href="#537732">In reply to red77star:</a></em></blockquote><p>Surface had a $2 billion quarter for the holiday 2019 quarter. That was a new record for them. Not too shabby actually.</p>
shameermulji
<blockquote><em><a href="#537729">In reply to red77star:</a></em></blockquote><p>"Microsoft should create OS for Tablet and Phones and do not call it Windows because the concept of Windows cannot be applied to such devices, and problem solved."</p><p><br></p><p>That should have been done years ago. Might be too little, too late for that.</p>
shameermulji
<blockquote><em><a href="#537741">In reply to steam960:</a></em></blockquote><p>MS tried that before the iPhone came along with Windows Mobile. It bombed miserably. The Samsung Galaxy series of smartphones have great integration with Windows 10 via the Your Phone app and MS' cloud services. Android & iOS have won the smartphone wars. Just like MS won the desktop wars.</p>
shameermulji
<p>What are the chances that dual-screen Win10X devices get scrapped permanently? Seems like a strong possiblity.</p>