14 DAY TRIAL // UPDATE May 2: Windows 10 S is now official. Read more about the Windows Store-limited OS here. Original story below.
Microsoft is holding a new event tomorrow, and this time the focus will be on the company’s educational efforts, bringing us several new products, including a brand new Windows 10 version.
On May 2, Microsoft is expected to take the wraps off a new operating system SKU called either Windows 10 Cloud or Windows 10 S (the first name has already been used for preview builds before the release of the Creators Update, but it’s not clear if the company wants to keep it for the production version as well).
Windows 10 S will be limited to Windows Store apps and will spearhead the company’s efforts in the education business, as it will be primarily installed on more affordable devices whose role will be to challenge the growth of Google’s Chromebook here.
Battery life, the main focus
As a result, Windows 10 S is more or less the successor to Windows RT, the operating system version that Microsoft launched in 2012 and which was installed on the original Surface RT and then on the Surface 2.
Microsoft is expected to highlight the battery life of these devices, but also talk big about its universal apps, a concept that isn’t entirely successful but which the company is supporting on all fronts.
The good thing about Windows 10 S is that the Windows Store app restriction can be lifted by simply purchasing a full Windows 10 license. If devices powered Windows 10 S can also run Win32 software, it’s probably just a matter of time until a jailbreak method is developed to unlock the full capabilities.
Microsoft will share all details of this new Windows 10 version tomorrow, alongside a bunch of devices running it, with sales very likely to begin later this month. Microsoft is expected to be the pioneer of Windows 10 S devices itself, so a new Surface limited to Windows Store apps is likely to see daylight as well.