- On this episode of Ask Dan Windows I'll talk about
what comes after the Windows 10 Creators update,
whether or not the Surface 3 is still a good value,
should XBOX One S owners be worried about Project Scorpio.
Stay tuned.
(relaxed electronic music)
If Surface Pro 5 came out, will the Surface 3
be still worth it?
So that's a really good question,
but also a tough one to answer
as we literally know nothing about a Surface Pro 5
or a Surface 5.
But assuming there is, will that make the Surface 3
a better value or bargain
and that's a interesting question.
Does Microsoft really reduce the prices
a lot on these devices?
So far we haven't seen that happen too much.
Microsoft does often hold sales
and bring down the price by 200 dollars or so,
or maybe add a bundle into it,
but they really haven't reduced prices all that much.
Still if you're on a budget looking for something
I think there are some better values out there
for different types of tablets,
but you may want to hold out for Surface 3
to see if it does come down a price,
but I don't expect a bargain basement reduction.
So, just keep an eye out.
We'll see what Microsoft announces, if anything at all.
What's next after Windows 10 Creators Update?
So on April eleventh Microsoft is expected to begin
rolling out their Creators update,
also known as Red Stone 2.
Now we already know that this fall Red Stone 3
is going to be coming out and I've heard around October
for that one.
That's also the same time that Xbox Scorpio,
which will probably get its proper name at E3 in June
will also be hitting the market.
So, the fall is going to be a big time.
Now the question is, what is Red Stone 3 going to focus on?
There's been some rumors and basically fan wishes of it
being called the Mobility Update
and I actually like that name a lot.
There is no evidence however that is what
it's going to be called,
but seeing is Red Stone 3 is when we'll see
Windows 10 on ARM hit the mainstream,
there maybe something tied into that.
That's when we expect to see basically Chromebooks
running Windows 10 Cloud and Windows 10 on ARM.
It's also expected this maybe one of the last
updates for Windows 10 Mobile
before Microsoft really shifts gears
and puts their Surface phone out,
but that's a lot of speculation right now.
We really don't know.
Although expect to hear more from Microsoft in May
at their Build conference.
I do expect them to sort of tease Red Stone 3
and show us a few new features
that they're working on for the next year,
but we have a few weeks out before we'll know.
When Scorpio launches, what will happen to Xbox One
and Xbox One S?
Alright I like this question a lot
because there's a lot of confusion here about
what Project Scorpio is.
First of all I expect it to maybe be called Xbox One Pro.
I realize that's a little bit boring of a name,
but it does keep the continuity here
and that's the real important distinction.
Xbox One and Xbox One S are not going away,
but they're part of a continuum of devices.
Scorpio is going to be very expensive.
I don't expect it to be super expensive,
but it will be obviously more than Xbox One S.
In other words, whatever we have in the Xbox One and One S,
those are not being discontinued.
Those OSs will be continued to update
and they're going to match and look exactly like
whatever Project Scorpio is going to have.
The only difference with Project Scorpio
is it's going to be higher in hardware.
It's going to support 4K out of the box
and 4K gaming and it'll have some other little
neat tricks.
Otherwise though, the operating system
will be exactly the same.
I'm ready to flip the switch on a premium Windows phone.
There seems to be only two choices at the time
and it's the Elite x3 or the Idol 4S.
Which do you recommend?
Alright, so first of all welcome to the one percent club.
You're apart of a very special group.
As far as which phone you should get,
it's always a tough question.
The Alcatel Idol 4S is probably a better value.
It's definitely cheaper than Elite x3.
Now I myself use the Elite x3, I like it a lot.
My only issue with it it's rather large
and it's tough to fit into your pocket.
I do however like the finger print scanner a lot better,
plus you get that iris scanner which is actually do use.
In terms of cameras, they're both very similar.
I would give the Elite x3 actually a little bit of an edge,
but the Idol 4S you do get a dedicated camera button
and that's pretty cool.
One thing you do lose on the Idol 4S though of course
is going to be NFC, which if you don't use it
it's not a big deal.
There's also no Qi wireless charging
which you do get with the Elite x3.
So, the Elite x3 is definitely a more well rounded device,
but it's more expensive.
If money is no object I would say go for the Elite x3,
but if you want a more normal size phone.
One that's easier to hold and type on
that can slip into your pocket easily,
get the Idol 4S.
Just remember with the Idol 4S, it's very delicate,
made of glass and metal.
That thing drops on pavement it's going to shatter.
It's going to dent.
So maybe get a case for it.
What are your thoughts on possible Android emulation
for Windows 10 Cloud or Windows 10 on ARM
for cellular PCs?
The return of the old Astoria question.
So for those who don't know,
about two years ago Microsoft announced Project Astoria.
It's one of the bridges that they were allowing developers
to use to bring apps to Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile.
It allowed developers to recycle Android code
to be used on Windows 10
and it was basically a port so you can have
Android apps run on your phone.
It worked pretty well but there apparently were some bugs
and a lot of developers, specifically Windows developers,
were very unhappy with Microsoft for doing this
as they saw as undermining Windows development.
Microsoft canned the project.
It never really gave a full answer as to why.
So the question is, does it make more sense
now to bring it back?
I would say maybe.
All I know is there are no plans to bring it back.
At least I'm not hearing anything
and every time I bring it up
to Microsoft they say it's basically dead.
But the way Microsoft sees it, it's UWP or nothing.
So, I do not believe Android emulation
will be coming to Windows 10 on ARM
or Windows 10 for Cloud although it would be nice
to help bridge that gap for Mobile,
I just don't see it as a solution.
So that does it for this episode.
Remember if you have a question
use #AskDanWindows on Twitter
or use our email askdan@windowscentral.com
and maybe we'll pick yours.
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Thanks for watching.
Take care everybody.
The noise is distracting me.
Sorry.
Just, you can pause that I'll do that over again.
I'm ready to flip the switch on a premium Windows phone,
there's, oh my god.
(laughs)
So that does it for this week's, nope.