Microsoft Andromeda Still Alive, Likely to Run Windows Lite

Microsoft Surface Andromeda, the device that so many people are still dreaming about, hasn’t been killed off just yet, despite the software giant never actually confirming its existence.

That is according to a recent online debate, with a couple of reliable Microsoft watchers explaining that while the project is still alive, the software giant has made a series of changes concerning the OS supposed to power it.

Previously, it was believed that Surface Andromeda, Microsoft’s very own dual-screen device supporting multiple form factors, would run on Andromeda OS, a new platform whose purpose was specifically to be installed on this new category of products.

But as it turns out, the plan has changed in the meantime, as Microsoft now wants its Andromeda device to run Windows Lite, the new OS version that should be finalized this year.

Still no ETA on the launch

Windows Lite, which is unlikely to hit the market with this name, is a completely new experience that Microsoft is developing for lighter devices that don’t need all the components of the fully-featured desktop operating system.

With Windows Lite, Microsoft would technically offer only the essential feature package, and because of this, the company could very well pick a completely different name for the final version. This would technically help Microsoft avoid the confusion that would be created among customers when having multiple Windows versions with different purposes, as it happened in 2012 when it launched Windows RT.

Brad Sams of Thurrott suggests Windows Lite won’t feature live tiles or flat accent colors, and although it will retain a familiar approach, “it does not explicitly recall Windows.” Sams suggests Microsoft is aiming for a Google Chrome OS-like version of Windows that would power Andromeda.

What will be interesting to see is how Microsoft manages to bring full Windows apps on Andromeda considering this platform, but given it will be specifically aimed at enterprises, solutions in this regard do exist, including cloud-based alternatives.