Windows 10X features could be making their way to Windows 10 sooner than expected, with Microsoft reportedly gearing up to let beta testers try out the OS on single-screen devices.
When it first announced Windows 10X during last year's Surface event in October, Microsoft positioned the OS, codenamed 'Windows Lite', as software designed for flexible and dual-screen devices, such as its own Surface Neo. In April, however, Microsoft announced that it Windows 10X would first be coming to single-screen devices.
At the time, it remained unclear what exactly will Windows 10X would do for traditional single-screen portables and when it could be coming, but a new report at WindowsLatest suggests some of the operating system's key features will be coming to Windows 10 "sooner rather than later."
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One of the first Windows 10X features to come to single-screen devices will be Win32 container support, according to Windows Latest, enabling users to run existing Win32 apps "virtually" in a sandboxed environment. Faster Windows updates, touted as one of the headline features of the Windows 10X, is also said to be coming to single-screen devices first, which could mean that future full-feature updates on Windows 10 will take less than 90 seconds.
The company is also said to planning to bring a new trust system from Windows 10X to single-screen devices too, whereby signed codes and apps with a "good reputation" can be installed safely on the desktop OS.
Windows 10X, which will exist separately to Windows 10 is also expected to bring with it a redesigned Star Menu with a focus on productivity, a stripped-back taskbar and dynamic wallpapers. It remains unclear whether these features will make their debut on single-screen devices.
Windows 10X release date
Though its unconfirmed when these features will arrive on Windows 10, Windows Latest notes that Microsoft will "soon" let beta testers try out these once-exclusive Windows 10X features on single-screen devices.
However, Windows 10X isn't expected to be ready for a mass rollout until next year. Neither will the first dual-screen Windows devices; as well as delaying its own Surface Neo until 2021, Microsoft in April announced that no other third-party dual-screen devices would be shipping with Windows 10X this year either.
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