- What should we expect from
the Microsoft Build Developer Conference
starting on May 7, 2018?
Today, I'll tell you; stay tuned.
(upbeat music)
First up is going to be Windows.
Why not?
Windows 10 is still the major focus for Microsoft,
and Build is where they get to to share it all
with its developer teams and community.
So what should we expect?
Definitely sets will be one of the big features to show off,
so if you're on the Windows Insider program already
on Skip Ahead, you know what sets are.
And if you've seen Zac Bowden's videos,
you've probably already seen it in action.
Sets are going to be continued to be developed
through RS5, which will come out in the Fall 2018.
We expect Microsoft to detail more about this feature,
as well as future plans for it.
Related to that will be cloud clipboards;
this is another feature, along with Timeline,
that was shown off in the past.
Timeline is now here with Redstone 4,
also known as the April 2018 update.
And what cloud clipboard is, well,
it's the idea of copying and pasting something
and saving it to the cloud
so you can open it on other devices.
Initially, we expect this to happen
across Windows 10 devices, matching Timeline,
but eventually it should roll out
to Android and iOS as well.
Hopefully, Microsoft will show that feature off
as, again, it should be a very productive feature
coming for the Fall update, which, I should say,
is rumored to be called the Productivity Update.
We'll have to wait and see if Microsoft sticks
with that name.
Some other changes with Windows 10,
expect to be focused around the taskbar, Start menu,
and Cortana.
Action Center's gonna get a little bit of revamp, too,
and I wouldn't be surprised if they show off
a little bit about that.
Cortana seems to be a little bit devalued
in its Redstone 4 release;
that is, you don't get the Timeline feature
anymore with your cards and everything else
that you've been following.
But some of the features are expected to return
in Redstone 5 and beyond,
as Cortana is now weaved deeper in the OS
as more of a functional AI,
versus a card system that just you go to
to catch up on the latest news.
Next up is the Fluent Design system.
So, at Microsoft Build 2017,
Microsoft detailed Fluent Design.
Now, that is the new UI aesthetic
that is coming to Windows 10.
We've seen a lot of it come in Redstone 4,
including Edge, and a lot in the Start menu.
Lotta this has to do with the acrylic look,
the see-through abilities in apps
developers have an option to.
Now, what we expect in 2018,
well, Fluent Design is a system,
that is, it is an evolving one.
So, we do have acrylic as a material,
but Microsoft has always said "materials," as in plural,
so we should expect different colors, different designs,
different material options,
including possibly wood and other things
coming as well.
Microsoft also announced other APIs and development tools
to allow developers to create new apps and designs
around this.
We also wouldn't be surprised if we see
the next version of Microsoft Office
feature Fluent Design,
as well as Microsoft's other core apps and services.
Next up is Windows Mixed Reality.
So, we've had this feature for a little while now,
but it is still very much in its infancy,
so Microsoft should be announcing new features,
designs, and directions for this platform.
Some that includes, maybe, a new focus on gaming,
which has always seemed like the low-hanging fruit
for Windows Mixed Reality.
Other features may revolve around social.
One of the things I've always found interesting
about Windows Mixed Reality is the potential for
social interaction;
that is, talking to people long-distance.
We've seen some social VR stuff
coming from Microsoft in the past,
but it's not quite public yet.
For instance, one feature we know that is coming,
that should be announced soon,
will be the ability to share your own virtual reality home.
That is, what is called Cliff's House now.
We should see different versions of that
and the ability to invite your friends over
to hang out with you virtually.
I think that would really make the whole platform
a lot more interesting and interactive for people.
And we should see some more information
come from Microsoft at Build.
Next up is the Universal Windows Platform, or, UWP;
after all, this is a developer conference,
and Microsoft needs to talk about that.
For some of you, you think Microsoft should get rid of UWP,
or it's already dead.
Sorry, neither one of those is a choice
for Microsoft at this time.
Don't forget, UWP is the future platform for Windows
in app development.
Even if they were to get rid of it today,
the only thing they would have to pull back on
is Win32, and that's just not happening.
So, at Build, what do we expect?
Well, there's 90 sessions focusing on UWP.
That's to contrast with the four for Progressive Web Apps.
That's actually a pretty impressive amount for PWA.
And expect Twitter to be there, as well,
highlighting their experience recently with their PWA
app for Windows 10.
For developers, though, you'll get a lot more information
about APIs, new designs, new templates,
and new options for UWP.
Also expect to hear more about Windows Centennial;
that is the bridge to bring over Win32 apps.
There are a lot of APIs that need to be converted
to allow that system to work,
and Microsoft should give us an update on its progress.
Finally, there is cloud, AI, IoT,
and the intelligent Edge.
And why not throw quantum computing in there, as well;
these are what I call
the more esoteric things about Build.
Some of them are hard to wrap your head around.
Quantum computing is still kind of bizarre;
it's not really a consumer-focused feature, of course,
so the interest here won't be as, uh,
well, as exciting.
But quantum computing is the future,
at least for a lot of the cloud stuff.
Azure, cloud, all this is big moneymakers for Microsoft
and its developers,
so it's gonna be very interesting to see them
talk about that.
AI is still a huge focus for Microsoft,
and I expect them to talk a lot about that,
bringing Cortana to more markets.
Don't forget, Cortana has a recent shakeup,
recently in its leadership.
We should hear a little bit more about the focus there
that's going on, what they're concentrating on.
Cortana seems to be shifting away from
a natural, just sort of, assistant
to something that weaves deeper into Office,
Outlook, and proactively reacts to things
for meetings in your calendars and email.
I'm sure they'll talk a little bit more about that stuff.
That may not sound exciting,
but this is the future of computing;
it's the stuff that happens behind the scenes
that's gonna be really interesting.
Arright, finally, I know you're wondering:
what about hardware?
Will Microsoft announce any new Surface devices?
Traditionally speaking,
Microsoft does not reveal new hardware at Build;
in fact, one of the last things I remember
was a Lumia 630, Lumia 635,
and, well, all remember how Windows Phone went.
So, no, I do not expect new Surface stuff.
Even though I'd be super excited to see them
get on stage and go, "Here's Andromeda,"
and reveal it all there,
that would distract a lot from the focus of this conference,
which is developers, it's APIs, it's stuff that,
if you're not a developer,
you kinda find boring.
But it's also the stuff that developers paid $2,000
to attend for.
If they were to announce Andromeda,
that's all people would talk about
during the whole conference;
it would overshadow all their other announcements.
So there's a reason why Microsoft
traditionally announces Surface devices at its own events:
that is to keep the message separate,
and I expect that to be here.
However, I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft
maybe teases a little bit about something coming later on;
that could always happen.
So there's a quick list of the things we expect to happen
at Microsoft Build;
now, remember, pay attention to Windows Central,
as we'll be there live all week.
We expect to do some live podcasting as well.
And, hopefully, we'll get a few surprises.
You leave me a comment below, though,
and tell me what you expect
and what you hope to see at Build;
we'll see if it comes true.
Thanks for watching. Take care, everybody.