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Microsoft conducted its renewed WinHec (Windows Hardware Engineering Community) summit a couple of days back in Shenzhen, China & revealed some interesting bits of info that’s relevant to both Mobile & PC users.
It’s interesting to note that Windows 10 for Phone has been referred to as Windows Mobile or Windows Mobile 10 at several places in presentations however it’s expected to be called as just Windows 10 on launch.
Here’s the summary
- New SoC Processor Support
- Windows 10 on the Phone side will support MSM8909 (Snapdragon 210), MSM8208 (Snapdragon 208), MSM8994 (Snapdragon 810), MSM8992 (Snapdragon 808) & MSM8952 (Snapdragon 615).
- Windows Mobile Hardware Requirements
- Minimum requirement for Windows 10 for Phone is 512MB RAM & 4GB Internal Memory. However the devices with 4GB Internal Memory will require Memory Card to successfully upgrade to Windows 10.
- Windows 10 Upgrade Path
- Those on Windows Phone 8 need to update to Windows Phone 8.1 to finally get Windows 10
- Windows 10 for PC will be launching this summer (between May end to 1st Week of Sept) in 190 Countries and 111 Languages.
- Windows 10 for Phone will bring support for USB Mass Storage, Hubs & Peripherals via Dual Role and USB Type-C connector. However which of the current devices will support this remains to be seen.
- Dual Role – Dual Role is the ability for a device to behave as either USB Host or USB Device
- USB Type-C
- Faster OS updates with Windows 10 for Phones via ‘Project Milkyway’
- Welcome Biometric Authentication Capabilities with Windows 10
- Windows 10 supports rich, modern biometric capabilities, to seamlessly unlock devices and unlock Next Gen Credentials (NGC) for a more secure & password free experience.
- Windows 10 supports a broad range of biometrics: from Face or Fingerprint or Iris.
- The Windows Input Platform is getting revived in Windows 10 enabling Pen, Touch, and Precision Touchpad devices to shine
- Precision Touchpad improvements in Windows 10
- New Touch Swipe Gestures in Windows 10
- And the big NEWS – Windows 10 for PC will come as a free upgrade for Windows 7, Windows 8 & Windows 8.1 devices for the first 1 year.
- The bigger NEWS – Even the Non-Genuine/Pirated version of Windows PC’s will be able to upgrade to Windows 10 for FREE. However the version of Windows will continue to remain Non-Genuine/Pirated in such cases.
- Microsoft has also teamed up with Chinese Smartphone major Xiaomi in a yet another ‘Out of the blue’ move to let a select group of MI4 users test & build Windows 10 for Phone before its release later this year.
Through a new program with Xiaomi, one of the top smartphone distributors in the world, a select group of Xiaomi Mi 4 power users will be invited to help test Windows 10 and contribute to its future release later this year. These power users will have the opportunity to download the Windows 10 Technical Preview â installing it and providing their feedback to Microsoft.
From Xiaomi
We received many questions from Mi fans about an announcement made by Microsoft yesterday regarding Windows 10 Technical Preview for Mi 4 users in China. We’d like to clarify a few points.
This is an experimental program led by Microsoft, working directly with the Mi fan community in China.
Microsoft is working on a build of Windows 10 specifically for Mi 4 devices. This Windows 10 build will not be running on top of Android nor be available as a dual-boot option. A small number of Mi 4 power users from the Xiaomi Forum in China who choose to take part in this experimental program will have to manually re-flash their Mi 4 devices with this Windows 10 ROM, in the same way they would re-flash other Android ROMs.
At Xiaomi, we are very supportive of users trying new things and we encourage them to do so all the time! That’s why all of our devices ship with unlocked bootloader, for example. That’s also why Xiaomi welcomes Microsoft team members to interact directly with members of the Xiaomi Forum in China. More details will be announced by Microsoft in the coming months. This program will only be available in China.
Xiaomi continues to fully embrace the Android ecosystem through our MIUI software platform and we’re moving ahead full steam building many exciting new Android-based features and services.