- On this week's episode of Ask Dan,
I talk about Windows 10 on Cloud.
What it is and what I expect from it
and whether or not there'll be
a Surface Studio refresh in 2017.
Stay tuned.
(upbeat music)
What do you think about Windows 10 Cloud?
So, earlier this week Mary Jo Foley
at All About Microsoft
wrote a little bit about Windows 10 Cloud.
It turned out this is gonna be another skew
that we're expecting from Microsoft.
It's basically another version of Windows 10.
What's the difference?
Well, this hasn't run Windows' 32 apps,
as for as we know.
That is, it only runs UWP Store apps
and that sounds familiar.
It sounds a lot like Windows RT from years ago.
Now, Windows RT was never formally canceled by Microsoft.
It's been trickling on for a few years,
but we've never seen any products released with it.
Microsoft is gonna reportedly position Windows 10 Cloud
against Google Chromebooks.
That is, these will be low-cost PCs and tablets
that can compete against Google.
We're making a lot of in-roads in the educations sector
at least in the United States market.
Now, the questions is how well this will do,
how they are gonna sell it to consumers,
if that is even going to be their attempt.
We do not yet know.
Nor do we know the timeframe for release of this.
We expect it probably around RS3,
that is, in the fall of 2017,
but it could be pushed back even later.
We're not 100% sure.
This may also be tied in with Windows 10 on ARM.
We'll just have to wait and see.
Why would Windows Cloud be a success this time around
compared to Surface RT?
Also, how is Windows 10 Cloud different
from Windows 10 Mobile?
Really good question here.
Years ago, Microsoft with Windows 8 launched two versions.
There was an RT version and a desktop.
RT could not run desktop apps
and it was a little bit confusing to the consumer
because there was a desktop presence there
and there was even full Office.
So, it looked like it could run desktop apps,
but it could only run Store apps.
Combined with the fact that the store was still very new.
They were co-watching these two things at the same time.
There weren't a lot of apps available
and I think that led to the demise of RT.
Now, RT's development basically kept on continuing,
which is what we're seeing here,
but the question is,
is it much different here in 2017?
I would say the store is in a much better position.
There are over six hundred thousand apps now
and by the time this launches, there should be even more.
Now, it remains to be seen
how they're going to position this.
Will this be a consumer device?
Will this be education only with limited skew availability?
I do see a lot of benefits here though.
These devices should be thinner,
they should be lighter,
they should get better battery life,
and that's an important thing to sell to people.
Regarding the second question,
as far as what's the difference between it and mobile,
well, mobile has a whole different shell right now.
That's what we're used to when we're seeing on a phone.
Now, mobile also works differently than Windows 10 desktop
and so, there's gonna be some fundamental differences here
about the shell.
Mobile also has the telephony support
for phones and cellular and SMS connectivity,
which Windows 10 proper does not yet have.
However, we are expecting those two things
to start to overlap going into 2017 and 2018,
but Microsoft has to share their plans yet with us.
When you think the first Windows 10
on ARM devices may be released?
I expect sometime in the fall
we'll start to see the first Windows 10 on ARM devices.
This seems to be contingent upon two things,
Windows 10 Redstone 3,
along with Qualcomm Snapdragon 835,
which Microsoft said is what's necessary to run this.
We don't have firm dates on when that processor comes out
and I expect Samsung to be the first to get it out there
with their new Galaxy S8 device.
So, probably don't expect this until the fall,
but who knows?
We may start to see little bits of it earlier this summer.
Do you think that a refreshed version of the Surface Studio
will be released in late 2017?
It's kind of a funny question,
considering Microsoft has barely
been able to get the Surface Studio
out to consumer hands in the United States
early in January 2017
and yet we're already talking about
a Surface Studio 2 refresh.
There is no firm information on this device,
nor what their plans are.
My guess is they're gonna roll it out
for quite a few months.
They're gonna let it saturate into the market,
eventually expand it,
hopefully to Europe and the UK.
I do not expect to hear anything
about a Surface Studio 2 or Surface Studio refresh
until sometime in 2018.
Microsoft seems to be very conservative
with releasing updates for these devices
as far as hardware changes.
They seem to be more on an 18 to 24 month cycle,
which considering their price points,
I think is probably a good idea,
but I would not expect to see a refresh any time soon,
but Microsoft operates so secretively
that who knows what's actually happening there?
If Samsung and LG beat Microsoft to the market
with a foldable phone,
will Microsoft still release a Surface phone?
All right, so really good question there.
Foldable displays are expected
to hit the market sometime in 2018
and it won't be brought to you exclusively by Microsoft.
That is because the companies behind it,
Samsung and LG,
each having competing technologies,
are likely to bring their own devices to market
and Apple is supposedly also experimenting
with foldable displays.
In fact, there are quite a few buyers
waiting to purchase this stuff to sell it to consumers.
I expect a wave of these devices
coming from multiple companies, basically, in 2018.
So, where does that leave Microsoft?
Well, Microsoft's proposition here
is always gonna be the strongest
because they have full Windows 10.
It's a desktop OS that can run Windows 32 apps
as well UWP apps.
They have graphics support.
They have inking.
There's a lot more of an ecosystem built there.
Let's not underestimate Samsung, though.
They've been very successful with Android
and making their own software and cornering that market.
So, they could be a strong competitor.
Still, I would suggest that Microsoft
has a strong card here to play
with having a full Windows 10 operating system
that matches your desktop, your laptop,
and, eventually, a kind of phone device.
So, I do not think Microsoft
would change their plans dramatically.
I've mentioned before that Microsoft
seems to get better with each Surface device.
So, I expect whatever comes out
for Surface mobile in their future
should be very impressive,
but will have some exclusive technology in there as well
besides the foldable screen.
So, that does it for this week's episode of Ask Dan.
Remember, if you have a question,
use #AskDanWindows on Twitter
or use our email askdan@windowscentral.com
and I'll try to answer yours next time.
Thanks for watching and if you liked this video
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Take care, everybody.
(light, bouncy music)