Microsoft, during its keynote address at the Computex event being held in Taiwan, mentioned a new modern operating system which analysts believe could be the successor to the company’s long-running proprietary Windows platform. The above speculation stems from the fact that an official blog post on the keynote address has no mention of Windows.
The rumoured OS, however, is yet to be assigned a name though experts opine it is going to be a new OS designed to be extremely secure right from the ground-up. And one way Microsoft hopes to achieve that is by pushing updates on the fly, without the user requiring to sign-out of their systems or going for a restart of their PCs.
In fact, the new modern OS is going to be designed in a manner the user won’t ever know when the updates are being installed. This, in turn, will also ensure zero disruption to whatever they have been up to on their PCs while the regular updates will also keep their device secured from all known or emerging threats.
As mentioned in the blog, another standout feature of the new OS is going to be its ability to adapt to different device form factors. This again is something that has been one of the primary design principles with the current Windows 10 platform, of having a single OS that would run on device as diverse as a tablet or a smartphone in addition to a full-fledged PC.
Interestingly, the phrase ‘form factor agility’ has brought back rumors of the long-lost Surface Phone back to the limelight. Many continue to rue the demise of Windows Phone and will love to see Windows in a smartphone form factor. That said, we might also get to see new foldable devices that can be both a tablet as well as a smartphone at the same time.
The company had previously hinted about working on expanding the Surface line-up with the introduction of new devices in the segment. Many are hoping that will also include a smartphone as well, in addition to anything else that the company might be working on at the moment. Or, the company could also be settings its sights on the emerging IoT segment as well as comprising of smart household gadgets.
Among the other highlights of the new OS likely in the works include its connectivity to 5G networks at all times. The OS will also be heavily dependent on AI to deliver a superior user experience and will support diverse input methods which include pen and voice apart from the usual touch-based inputs. In fact, the OS might also be able to track eye movement and use the same as a means of input as well.
