Windows 10X, Microsoft’s spin on its desktop OS which was recently shown off along with Surface Neo, and was created and optimized for such dual-screen devices, will apparently be coming to traditional laptops as well.
This revelation comes from leaked Microsoft documents that go into considerable detail on Windows 10X and how it will work, as spotted by WalkingCat (a veritable fountain of Microsoft leakage on Twitter).
🤔 https://t.co/mhToFNPQvCOctober 25, 2019
The documents have since been yanked down, unsurprisingly, but not before MS Power User (and others elsewhere across the net) managed to grab and publish the contents.
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As mentioned, one of the big revelations is that Windows 10X (also referred to by its codename Santorini) isn’t just intended for dual-screen devices, but will also be coming to traditional (clamshell) laptops in the future.
As such, the documentation explains that the OS will be adaptable to the device it’s being used on, and for both clamshell and foldable (dual-screen) laptops, there will be the same base model of Windows taskbar – but it will be modifiable based on a series of ‘levers’.
In other words, you’ll be able to have a taskbar which has left-aligned content for a traditional laptop, or center-aligned for a dual-screen device. Or the position of the Task View icon will be next to the Start button, or across on the far right, with various other variables determined by said levers (like having dividers on the taskbar, or not).
Convenience first
More broadly, the idea with Windows 10X is to have an operating system that “blends into the background” so that everything works seamlessly, and the OS puts the things that you most need front and center to be conveniently accessed.
That means a Launcher to help you fire up whatever you need quickly, as well as resuming whatever tasks you might have been previously working on in short order.
This Launcher will feature search functionality that allows you to discover not just the right files on your device, but the apps you’re after, and also integrated web results, as well as a grid of applications which can be customized or tailored to user preferences.
Recommended content will also be dynamically surfaced based on the apps, files and websites you’ve used or visited most frequently (or recently). You’ll also be able to group apps into folders by stacking them together, so convenience is very much the watchword here.
