Windows 10 Build 14901 - Redstone 2 Branch Begins

On Aug 11, MS released the first Redstone 2 branch build for Windows Insiders - build 14901.  This was a PC only build.   While we all knew RS2 builds were coming - but this was about a week earlier than I was anticipating.

 According to the Feedback Hub announcement regarding 14901 - the initial builds are going to focus on OneCore improvements.  As you are aware OneCore is the unified Windows OS components that allow Windows 10 to run on a variety of devices from Mobile to PCs & Tablets to XBox and IoT.  

 The announcement also called out two known issues..
  • Support for kernel debugging over 1394 has been removed, but will be available in an upcoming kit release. A work-around will be posted to the Debugging Tools for Windows Blog shortly. 
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader crashes when you try to launch it. 
I applied 14901 to a desktop, laptop and tablet and in all cases the update installed fine.

As noted I did experience the Adobe failure mentioned and had to revert to the MS Reader app as an alternative.  All other apps I have seem to run fine even including legacy SilverLake apps.

 Much like the Redstone 1 branch, the Redstone 2 branch is expected to be about 9 months in length.  There have been several reports that RS2 will focus more on Mobile.  

 With the new market reset that MS has taken with Mobile - so more of a focus on Enterprise than Consumer along with partner devices like the upcoming HP Elite X3 - I expect RS2 Mobile to focus heavily on Continuum and Hello support. 

 There is still a lot of work needed for Edge on Mobile and especially apps like Outlook, Office and what I call the Office365 extensions - so Authenticator, Sway, PowerBI, Planner, etc.   I also expect to see more capabilities from PC come over to mobile - so for example joining an Azure AD domain and/or being able to get to attach a traditional file share.

 So far MS has not delivered either the production release of Windows 10 Mobile Anniversary or this Redstone 2 build.  Anniversary is expected on Aug 16.

 What I am waiting for is the announcement on an updated supported mobile device list for RS2.  As I've mentioned in earlier posts, As MS ratchets up the feature set of Windows 10 mobile, there will be higher demands on the hardware spec.   And while so far I've been lucky in that my Lumia 735 has met the requirements (with the exception of Continuum and Hello), I'm not sure how much longer than can continue.  While I may be able to load the OS, I may see little benefit.

 And while MS did not take my recommendation to give 950/950XLs away to Insiders, they have dropped the price.  For example the 950 is now being sold @ ATT for just $298 so nearly $250 less than the original $549.   The MS store is selling an unlocked 950 for $399 which includes a dock.  

 I can't say 100% that the new price will move the needle on sales, but I expect to see prices continue to fall as both MS, ATT & 3rd parties try to reduce their inventory.

 On the PC side, I called out in an earlier post what I though would be at least the 4 initial features of RS2.

  • Continuum Touch support - so for touch screen PCs, the ability to control Mobile apps via touch that have been extended to a PC.
  • Picture-in-Picture - so a media viewing capability
  • Azure AD Improvements - MS is really pushing corporations to move their AD to the cloud - in order to do that Windows 10 PCs need to be easily able to join Azure AD domains and have a corporate GPO applied.
  • Messaging Everywhere Part II - The Messaging Everywhere Beta was pulled from the Anniversary Edition.  While it has not reappeared with this 14901 build - I expect it to return soon.  
There will be more - most likely improved Edge, Ink and Centennial support - but I haven't seen any formal announcements yet.

Along with RS2 Software will come new hardware.  The expectation is that MS will coordinate the RS2 release with the new Surface 5 Pro and SurfaceBook 2 lines based on the new Intel Kaby Lake architecture.  There are also rumors of an All-in-One PC line as well as the infamous Surface Phone.  

We've already seen a new change in hardware requirements for RS2 around TPM with the 2.0 requirements.   In addition more and more vendors will need to add IR cameras that support Hello and WiFi that support Continuum as a minimum. Today only a few models in most vendors line ups provide that support.

Bottom line is this.   Redstone 2 has started.  MS is going to focus on enterprise and mobile features as they prepare for their new hardware that will be released in the spring of 2017.

For many folks (including myself) there will not be a huge change in the overall experience with RS2.  Sure I'll have some more Ink capabilities with my tablet, but as I've stated in an earlier post - if you don't have a brand new PC, Surface Pro, Elite X3, etc - that can support the above mentioned features, then your not going to realize a huge benefit with the Redstone 2 branch.

The big question is - are these new features - Windows Hello, Continuum, Ink, etc., going to be enough of a catalyst to drive PC sales ?  






   









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