14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft doesn’t seem to be willing to build any other Windows RT device after Surface RT and Surface 2, but the company still has to update the tablets it already sold for a couple more years to lend a hand to those who purchased the first-generation Surfaces.
But when Windows 10 comes out, there’ll be no such update for the two Windows RT Surface tablets, as Microsoft only wants to focus on its full Windows version and update devices running it.
In other words, no, Windows RT won’t be updated to Windows 10 RT, but some improvements will still be offered. What improvements is too early to tell, but Gabriel Aul, head of the Windows Insider program, confirmed today that Windows 8.1 RT Update 3 would launch in September.
Some improvements will be offered
Details do not exist just yet, but it’s believed that Update 3 is actually that pack of Windows 10 improvements prepared for Windows RT tablets that the company already confirmed earlier this year.
“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,” Microsoft says in the official Windows 10 FAQ.
Windows RT was introduced with much fanfare in October 2012 together with Windows 8, with Steve Ballmer, still the CEO of Microsoft at that time, explaining that this was the best way to enjoy the power of the new operating system on a tablet.
But the biggest setback for a Windows RT tablet was that it didn’t run desktop software, so it was limited to store apps, and because of the lack of such apps, many customers avoided to buy the device. Manufacturers also refused to join the RT bandwagon, so Windows RT quickly became a flop that Microsoft is now trying to get rid of in a gentle way.