14 DAY TRIAL // Joe Belfiore, who previously was Microsoft’s Corporate Vice President in the Operating Systems Group and the go-to person for everything Windows phone, returned to the company last fall after a year on sabbatical leave, but his role within the company has been mostly a secret.
With the launch of the Windows 10 Creators Update, however, Belfiore decided to be more active on social media and started posting on Twitter once again, while at the same time offering an interview to Mashable to discuss some of the latest Microsoft projects, including the future of Edge browser.
While he offered no details as to where Windows 10 Mobile is heading to, Belfiore came back with some bad news for Microsoft fans on iOS and Android, reiterating some of the words that other company executives said in the past: Microsoft Edge isn’t coming to a non-Windows platform anytime soon.
Exclusively available on Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile, Microsoft Edge is the new default browser, replacing Internet Explorer, and spearheads the company’s efforts in the modern OS world.
“We want to put customers first and it’s not something we have plans for, no announcements, but we do recognize that we’re going to think about what they want and need. We’ll put investment where there are high value experiences,” Belfiore said when asked about Edge on non-Windows platforms.
Taking the stage at May 2 event?
He also praised Windows 10 Creators Update, explaining that the new OS version brings improvements in all regards, including performance.
“We have made giant progress in Windows 10 on Creators Update. It takes less memory and hard drive space, which lets the price of devices come down,” he said.
As far as his role within the company is concerned, Belfiore reveals that he’s now the “education sponsor and advocate in the Windows team,” with his main responsibility being to “make sure that Microsoft is focusing on and responding to the education audience.”
Microsoft’s next event takes place on May 2 and is being promoted with the #MicrosoftEDU hashtag, and this is a hint that Joe Belfiore will almost certainly be there, and probably take the stage, to discuss the company’s plan in the education sector.