The Windows 10 Creators Update may be out today, but Microsoft has plenty more planned for its latest and greatest operating system, including a stripped down version we could meet next month.
Microsoft is readying a spring event, as you may know, and the matchless Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet says software called Windows 10 Cloud will likely be the star of this particular show.
Despite what the name strongly suggests, Windows 10 Cloud isn't related to the cloud, or at least not as much as you would think.
Instead, this flavor of Windows 10 is essentially a lightweight version of the full-featured OS, and it will only run universal apps from the Windows Store. Think of Windows 10 Cloud as a reincarnation of Windows RT: a thinner base for less robust devices, ideal for taking on the go without draining battery life.
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Hardware, hard won't?
New hardware, then, won't be the main attraction at the spring event, which is apparently codenamed Bespin. Star Wars fans may remember Bespin as the name of a fictional planet in the series, home to Cloud City. Get it?
Foley repeated an assertion the Surface Book 2 won't be unveiled at the spring shindig; while Microsoft is working on the updated PC, it's apparently not ready for prime time yet.
On the other hand, the Surface Pro 5 is a possibility, however what sounds more likely for this gathering is a never-before-seen Surface device. Just what that could be is unknown – some rumors have pointed to a clamshell laptop in the works, but Foley doesn't seem to buy that's what Microsoft has cooking.
Inklings are that Microsoft will instead launch an all-new 2-in-1 device, likely humming on Windows 10 Cloud. This product could match up against Google's Chromebooks, and obviously would make sense to launch at an event featuring Microsoft's own agile OS.
Foley's sources say the Bespin event is going down in early May, so stay tuned as we find out more.
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