- We recently wrote an article detailing Microsoft Polaris
what is it?
Today I'll tell you as we do a deep dive
to Microsoft's future road map.
Stay tuned.
(upbeat music)
Okay if you haven't seen the article yet
make sure you head to Windows Central
or we'll link the article in the description below.
Zac Bowden our senior editor for Windows Central
did an excellent article detailing what Microsoft Polaris is
and some of the future road map stuff for Microsoft.
Before we dive into Polaris,
let's talk about Windows Core OS
so this is the future of Windows.
Now, this is gonna be a process, it won't launch all at once
in fact, what they're gonna do is put it into a few products
going forward.
One of these versions is gonna be Andromeda
that's probably coming out in the fall.
That's the foldable device.
Another version is Polaris and that's gonna be for
desktop PCs and laptops.
It's the more traditional form factor.
And what makes Windows Core OS different is this
starting back with Windows 8 Microsoft unified
it's core system under OneCore, that's the kernal system
and the base layer of the operating system.
This was across PC, mobile, Xbox and all their devices
and it was a pretty big step
toward a unified operating system.
But it actually wasn't completely unified.
Instead it was just the kernal layer but the middle stuff
was still independent so Windows mobile was it's own
operating system separate from PC.
Which is why we saw different development branches
for both operating systems.
It's also why, fundamentally, you couldn't run Win32
apps on a phone, they were just different systems altogether
What did connect them, of course, was UWP
the Universal Windows Platform, so you can think of that
as a top layer for applications so all those were
linked together and shared components.
And that was a big step so you had the bottom layer
that was united and the top layer that was kinda united
but the stuff in between was different.
You also had of course the shell
the stuff that you would actually interact with.
So you had the Windows 10 desktop which you know
and are familiar with.
And then on mobile you had it's own interface
and those were just different shells altogether.
This is gonna be combined into Cshell,
the composable shell layer coming with Windows Core OS.
It's gonna be a flexible UI that is adaptable
to it's circumstance.
You can kinda think of this as continuum
being built into the operating system
so that it can dynamically adjust based on the device
it's gonna be used on.
The difference with Windows Core OS
is now we're talking about the middle layer.
So there is no Windows 10 mobile anymore
because that mobile operating system has been discontinued.
Instead what Microsoft has done is folded the mobile stuff
into Windows proper and you have now Windows Core OS
which can do all that stuff.
But more importantly Windows Core OS is going to start
ditching legacy support for older systems.
This is why you're starting to see Microsoft
bring a lot of the old settings into the new control panel.
They're basically abandoning ship, they're getting as much
of the old stuff into the new system as possible
because eventually all that stuff will be jettisoned.
So yes, no more fax machine built into Windows anymore
I'm sorry folks you will have to move on.
Before everybody gets into a panic,
I should mention Windows Core OS will be able to do Win32.
It's not entirely clear which path they're going to take
but emulation layers is one, there's also containers,
there's also apps streaming through the cloud
which is becoming more of a scenario
that companies are adopting.
Either way there will be a solution here
for running Win32 but that won't be the primary system.
You can think of Windows Core OS as effectively being
an entire UWP operating system.
So for those who think UWP is dead
I hate to tell you, Microsoft is actually going
very deep into this.
The entire operating system is based around UWP
and in fact that's what's gonna run through the store
including centennial app so no, UWP is not dead
it's actually very much here to stay.
So let's talk about Polaris, what is it?
It is the desktop version, it's the alternative to Andromeda
which is built around mobile.
Polaris will be for desktop, specifically laptops
and light computing devices
but eventually desktops and yes,
Microsoft sees this as the longterm push to replace
desktop operating systems with this.
It's gonna be modern, it's gonna be fast,
it'll be efficient, it'll be lightweight,
and it will be very secure.
The best part here though is it will look like Windows 10
to you, the outside layer of the shell
is gonna look exactly as it does today
although there will be incremental improvements
as Microsoft is always toying around
with moving stuff around the task bar.
So next question is when to expect this
well we don't really expect this to launch until some time
in 2019 and again it will only come on new devices.
You'll sort of see light computing laptops come out
with this as a version of the operating system.
I should also point out that Microsoft is not
going to push this out as an update
so if you're running Windows 10 Pro on your PC
and you absolutely love it, it's not gonna be
suddenly replaced with this.
All those legacy systems will continue to exist
and get the support as needed.
In fact, Windows 10 Pro is not going anywhere
for what are obvious reasons: enterprise, schools,
hospitals, and maybe yes, you, the gamer
and the Pro user still want to use that old legacy system
with all those Win32 apps and all those services
you are familiar with.
So that will stick around and you will continue to see
devices on the market that are Pro level devices
running Windows 10 Pro so don't worry there.
What Polaris and Windows Core OS is meant for
is this new generation of light computing.
If you've been following Chromebooks a lot,
Chromebooks are growing in markets all around the world
especially in education in the United States
but it's also growing in other markets
and you're starting to see a lot of people
in the tech press talk about how they can start to use
Chromebooks as their daily devices
because a lot of people live in the browser.
A lot of people just run about three or four apps
and that is really it.
Now for you people who run AutoCAD or doing video processing
obviously we're not talking about you.
We're talking about general consumers.
When you look at that market Microsoft needs something there
that is both moderate and efficient.
The problem with Win32 is it's a legacy system,
it bogs down everything.
It's also a virus threat.
Windows Core OS is going to jettison all that stuff
and it's their answer to what is Chromebook.
Even Apple has to deal with this too.
A lot of rumors are saying they're gonna put iOS
on some point onto a laptop which makes sense
when you think about the MacBook Air and what it is used for
which is light computing.
I'm sorry to say if you're watching this video,
you're really not the demographic here for this
at least not right now.
Polaris is meant for general consumers.
If you're watching this video you're probably
an advanced user who needs pro level devices
or who likes to hack things or even just do really
advanced work on their PCs.
But for a lot of the general consumers out there
there's a reason why Chromebooks
are suddenly becoming enticing.
Most people live in a browser,
specifically Chrome unfortunately,
but they also just run three or four apps
whether it's Microsoft Word or a photos app or email
there's only a couple things that they're doing
with these devices here.
Microsoft is in a position to leverage that
by jettisoning a lot of that legacy stuff
that's been holding them back.
They're not getting rid of this for everybody.
Like I said, Win32 will stick around.
And even in this case for Windows Core OS and Polaris
there will be ways to continue to run Windows 32
in a modern way.
But they do have to move forward here
the idea that in 2025 we're all gonna be running
Win32 apps I think is a little bit far fetched
for the average consumer.
We want fast mobile devices, instant on,
long battery life, fast and efficient, secure,
easy to find what you need,
and Microsoft needs to bring Windows forward
and that's what Polaris does.
Now like I said don't expect Microsoft to announce
any of this stuff, not for a while.
I expect Andromeda to be the first version of
Windows Core OS that you'll actually see
and it'll be in a foldable device that's mobile.
So the idea here of Win32 apps is not as important
but Polaris will be one step.
I should also mention there are other versions of this
for differing platforms.
So for Windows Mixed Reality and HoloLens
there will be a Windows Core OS for that
as well as Surface Hub and even, yes, Xbox.
So there's what we know so far about Polaris
and Windows Core OS.
If you like this topic make sure you follow
Zac Bowden on Twitter z-a-c b-o-w-d-e-n
as he's the one that broke this story.
You can also ping him and ask him some questions.
If you like this video don't forget to give us a thumbs up
and don't forget to subscribe.
Thanks for watching, take care everybody.
We recently wrote an article detailing Microsoft Polaris.
What is it?
Today I'll tell you about Microsoft's plans, let's go.
Oh (beep) let's go, that's so...
We recently detailed an article, no
Jesus, I'm, this is off today