It’s dead for now.
Windows 10x was supposed to be the new version of Windows 10. Designed for dual-screen devices, Windows 10X would support the extent of Windows apps.
Most traditional desktop apps would work the same way they would on Windows 10 Professional or Home.
Microsoft Refocusing Windows 10x on Single-Screen Devices
Earlier in May, Microsoft confirmed that it planned to refocus Windows 10x on single-screen devices.
With this Windows 10 edition, Microsoft designed it for flexibility that can take advantage of the cloud’s power to assist customers in their work.
Microsoft at that time said that it would continue to find the right moment to bring Windows 10x to dual-screen devices to market.
Today, the company released the Windows 10 update. Along with the update, Microsoft announced that it will not bring Windows 10x to market this year.
“Instead of bringing a product called Windows 10X to market in 2021 like we originally intended, we are leveraging learnings from our journey thus far and accelerating the integration of key foundational 10X technology into other parts of Windows and products at the company.” – Microsoft
The announcement, however, didn’t say that Windows 10x is dead. Instead, Microsoft said that it decided that this Windows 10 edition should not be just for a subset of customers.
Some of the features are in the core of Windows 10. You can get it if you are on the Dev channel of the Windows Insider Program.
In a recent leak, it showed that some of the Windows 10x elements are in the Action Center, such as the new swipe gestures.
Some have seen floating menus and rounded corners.
Windows 10x Promising Features
Windows 10x is said to be Microsoft’s answer to Chrome OS. It is a new lightweight version of Windows that can take on Chromebooks.
Windows users have been waiting for it for many years. It started off as a variant of Windows 10 that was supposed to be launched along with Microsoft’s Surface Neo.
Microsoft simplified all areas inside Windows 10 to the point that it feels like it is a portal to the web, instead of to the Windows apps.
The Start button is in the middle of the taskbar. The Start Menu is a launcher. But you can’t find the Live Tiles. What you can find is a list of apps and recent documents. When you need to search for apps, documents, and other content on the Internet, you can do so through Bing’s search engine.
The taskbar has been simplified. If you are used to seeing a lot of system tray icons, then you won’t find them in Windows 10x.
Rather, you will have Action Center that shows the time. It pops out to give you quick settings, like enabling a VPN, managing the volume, among others.
Windows 10x will let you drag and drop apps so they can run side by side. However, the apps can’t be resized freely. The middle button on the right-hand side of the app has been removed.
Microsoft released a smaller chunk of the Windows 10 May 2021 Update today. However, a bigger part of the update will be released in October.
