14 DAY TRIAL // The Redstone update will definitely be an exciting release for Windows 10 users, and although Microsoft hasn’t publicly acknowledged it, the company has already dropped several hints that something major is in the works.
This is what happened recently, when Microsoft posted a new job ad on its Careers website (via Walking Cat), looking for a senior program manager that would work on what seems to be ARM64 support for the Redstone update.
“Are you passionate about creating the operating system foundation to enable breathtaking experiences? The silicon ecosystem is always evolving. Windows across all device categories is readying for the introduction of 64 bit computing with the ARM instruction set (ISA). Bringing a new ISA to market involves working both broadly and deeply across Microsoft from devdiv to WDG to Server to Office and others depending on the scope of product target,” the job ad reads.
Surface Phone hints
In the responsibilities section, Microsoft explains that the new employee would have to “build the plan for ARM64 aligned with the Redstone wave,” clearly hinting that this new feature would be part of the upcoming update for Windows 10.
While it’s too early to speculate on how ARM64 support could transform the Windows 10 effort, it’s clearly related to mobile devices, as Microsoft is looking into ways to improve its platform and address problems such as the lack of apps without turning to Android or iOS.
Rumor has it that this effort to developed ARM64 support in the Redstone update is closely related to the Surface Phone, the company’s upcoming device whose key feature will be the possibility of running Win32 apps.
It’s believed that Microsoft’s goal is to allow Win32 apps to be used with Continuum, as running this kind of apps on a small screen would lead to a series of drawbacks that would nearly make them unusable. But connecting the phone to the Display Dock and getting a fully featured PC would definitely be a hit for Microsoft’s mobile phone efforts.