It looks like Microsoft has indefinitely shelved Windows 10X, the company’s operating system for dual-screen devices.
Microsoft buried the news in a Tuesday blog post concerning the May update to Windows 10. The second half of the post discusses Windows 10X, which was supposed to power the Surface Neo, a dual-screen PC.
“Following a year-long exploration and engaging in conversations with customers, we realized that the technology of Windows 10X could be useful in more ways and serve more customers than we originally imagined,” wrote Microsoft VP John Cable. “We concluded that the 10X technology shouldn’t just be confined to a subset of customers.”
The post doesn’t flat out say Windows 10X is dead. But it appears Microsoft has canceled its original plan to launch the OS later this year, first on single-screen devices. Instead, the company is repurposing “key foundational” technologies in Windows 10X and bringing them to the standard Windows 10 experience, Cable wrote.
“In fact, some of this is already reflected in the core of Windows in Windows Insider preview builds,” he said. “For example, the new app container technology we’re integrating into products like Microsoft Defender Application Guard, an enhanced Voice Typing experience, and a modernized touch keyboard with optimized key sizing, sounds, colors, and animations.”
Cable added rather vaguely that Microsoft continues to invest in “areas where the 10X technology” will help meet customer needs. However, he made no mention of the Surface Neo, making it unclear if the product will ever launch.
The news isn’t necessarily bad for Microsoft, but perhaps more indicative of a changing market. Redmond originally announced Windows 10X in October 2019, before the pandemic. The company then delayed the OS in May 2020, when millions of people were starting to work and study from home.
At the time, Chief Product Officer Panos Panay said the company was looking “for the right moment” to launch dual-screen devices. But in the meantime, it prioritized development of the existing Windows platform. Since then, demand for PCs has soared to levels not seen since 2010 due to consumers buying up Windows laptops and Google Chromebooks.