Microsoft has published a roadmap for Windows 10 showing incoming features that will be of interest to businesses, but these capabilities will naturally be interesting to the average user of Microsoft's newest OS as well.
The roadmap (spotted by Petri) shows features which Redmond has recently made available in Windows 10, as well as those which have been rolled out to preview versions – and underneath these, there is a section which highlights features in development (interestingly there's also a space for cancelled features, although nothing is currently listed here).
So what's in the pipeline? There are a number of security features, including improvements to Microsoft Passport aiming to enhance functionality in the enterprise arena, and also the ability to unlock your Windows 10 PC either your smartphone or another device.
You'll be able to use either a Windows or Android phone to store your credentials to unlock your Windows 10 machine, and furthermore authenticate apps and services running on the system (provided they support Windows Hello or Microsoft Passport).
You'll also be able to use 'companion devices' such as the Microsoft Band 2 for authentication when unlocking your PC.
Casting cleverness
Redmond is promising PC to PC casting, meaning you'll be able to share your screen to another computer, and the ability to project from a Continuum-compatible phone to monitors which are hooked up to Windows 10 computers. Touch input will also be supported when you connect a Continuum-compatible handset to a touchscreen monitor.
Interestingly, Microsoft is also building in what it calls laptop-like accessory support, which the company describes as "support for a new accessory form factor that looks like a lightweight and low-cost laptop, but without any CPU or OS", which can be paired to a Continuum-running smartphone (i.e. it sounds like this is some kind of laptop shell accessory, with the phone acting as the guts of the thing in terms of the hardware/software).
Check out the full roadmap here. Furthermore, when discussing new Cortana features which are inbound for the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, Redmond mentions the month of July as an arrival date for some features – so that could be the current target date for this major upgrade (formerly known as Redstone part one). Of course, as ever, target dates are hardly set in stone.
Previously Microsoft said that the Anniversary Update is due to arrive late this summer, and of course it would make sense and be ideal for Microsoft to deliver the thing on the first anniversary of the launch of Windows 10 (at the end of July).
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