Microsoft kills Windows 10X
Back in 2019, Microsoft announced that it would launch a surface Neo dual-screen tablet and Surface Duo foldable smartphone.
Surface Duo smartphone would run Android and replace the Windows Phone. Surface Neo dual-screen tablet would run a miniature Windows 10 christened Windows 10X.
In 2020, Microsoft launched Surface Duo and joined the Android ecosystem in ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’ style. Up to now, the other product, Surface Neo is nowhere to be seen. And it looks like we may as well forget about it.
Microsoft has revealed that it abandoned the surface Neo and Windows 10X project. According to the company, Windows 10X did not possess enough arsenal to ‘destroy’ its intended target, Google Chrome.
Chrome OS runs on cheaper ‘laptops’ ideal for students and low-budget users, Chrome books. The beauty about chromebooks is that they are powered by cheap yet powerful chips. Chromebooks also make 5G implementation cheaper and easier.
On the other hand, Windows 10X was going to be propelled by not as impressive low cost processors.
Comparing apples to apples, Windows 10 is more capable and popular than Chrome. The problem is that Windows 10X was too stripped of the platform’s sweeter features to make it compatible with inexpensive hardware.
Surely, that combination would not win Microsoft the trophy of cheap-laptop market. It was for that comprehensive reason that the company cancelled the project.
T h e introduction of Apple’s M1 super-fast processors for its macOS laptops dwarfed the prospects of Windows 10X even further.
That said, Microsoft has not abandoned its quest for the Chromebook market; Microsoft is expected to release 2H21 face-lift for Windows 10 later this year. Codenamed Sun Valley, the revamped Windows 10, will include most of the features of the abandoned Windows 10X.
This time around, a full Windows-experience OS will run on inexpensive Intel chips. To make it cheaper, the apps will be scaled-down to make such devices as dual-screen tablets affordable.
According to ExtremeTech, the sales of Chromebooks exploded during the pandemic pushing Google’s platform past Apple’s macOS laptops and eating into Microsoft’s laptop dominance.
Soon Microsoft will have an answer for Chromebooks. Until that time comes, Google is firing from all fronts, smartphones and laptops. Apple’s market niche is premium products and it is not bothered about low-budget devices market.
