Microsoft earlier in January said that its current lineup of Windows RT devices including Surface RT and Surface 2 will not be upgradeable to Windows 10. However, now the company promises to release a patch update for RT devices that’ll include some key features of the forthcoming Windows 10, but not all. The Redmond giant confirmed this week saying that the much-anticipated Windows RT update will be available around the launch date of Windows 10, slated for July 29.
“If you’re running Windows RT, your device won’t upgrade to Windows 10, but we will have an update for you around the time of Windows 10 release,” explains Microsoft on its Windows 10 FAQ page.
Microsoft is yet to confirm a specific release for its Windows RT update, neither has it revealed which Windows 10 features will be available on its RT devices. Redmond has confirmed that the popular ‘Surface Pro’ lineup will be fully upgradeable to Windows 10, however.
Windows RT was essentially Microsoft’s sneaky attempt to run Windows OS on ARM (Acorn RISC Machine), the architecture deployed in most modern-day smartphones and tablets. And the only desktop software it could run includes Microsoft’s built-in apps and its Office suite of apps. Hence, the advantages it supposedly had were, for the most part, negligible, which eventually led PC vendors to ditch the whole concept. Devices with screen size 7 inches or smaller running Windows Phone will get the ARM based Windows update, which won’t feature a desktop mode.
At this point, one can’t really be sure as to what new Windows 10 features will be available with the RT update. Most notably, it will include of some of the key features of the upcoming OS, including the Halo- inspired digital assistant Cortana, the new Edge browser or the new Continuum feature that allows users to switch seamlessly between windowed apps and full-screen mode. Moreover, some analysts are also under the assumption that the update won’t include the Media Player and the Windows Media Center.
Owners of Windows RT devices will surely be excited about this update. Hopefully, Microsoft can shed more light on this new update in the coming weeks and let us know what it’ll bring to the table. Even if it’s the Windows 10 Universal Platform run-time, this is still really good news as it implies some of the new Windows 10 Universal Apps will run on your RT device. Despite the fact that it still won’t be able to run Win32 apps, it will still extend some life to RT devices.
Comments are closed.