Windows 10 Redstone 2 Branch - What to expect
Now that the Redstone 1 branch of Windows 10 development has ended with the release of the Anniversary Upgrade 1607 - Build 14393.5, the focus now turns to the Redstone 2 branch - which is expected to complete sometime in Spring of 2017. The common POV is that will sometime in April.
The big question is what will Redstone 2 bring to the table in terms of new features and capabilities ?
With Redstone 1 - the big new features were directly addressed at the Build Conference in March. They included:
1. A big emphasis and expansion of Microsoft Ink. So more integration across more apps and some cool things like rulers and app relevance.
2. Cortana taking a bigger role - again with more integration across more apps - like Skype - and access via the lock screen. Also some backend capabilities like the Cortana Intelligence Engine.
3. Updates to MS Hello to support biometrics as well as integration with Edge for site logins.
4. BASH shell integration through a new partnership with Canonical (Ubuntu) and subsystem.
5. New Skype UWP app along more 3rd party UWP apps "coming soon"
6. Improved gaming integration across xBox and Windows 10 via UWP.
For the most part all of these items made the Anniversary Build.
With Redstone 2 it's a little harder to call out a complete feature set - but here is what I know as of today.
One feature of note that got dropped from Redstone 1 was Messaging Everywhere which provided a messaging app for PC which integrated with your Windows Phone to allow you to see, reply or edit new messages and have them sync with your phone.
The feature was still considered Beta when MS decided not to include in the Anniversary release - so I expect it come back.
MS also called out three new capabilities "In Development" on the Windows 10 Roadmap page.
1. Touch Screen support for Continuum - so the ability to control Continuum apps on the larger screen via Touch when Continuum connects to a supported Touch Screen.
2. Picture in Picture - an ability to monitor media content while focusing on other tasks.
3. Enhancements with Joining Azure AD - I can see this being a more and more attractive option to Enterprises customers running O365. As enterprises move more and more workload to the cloud, there will be less and less a need to maintain an on premise AD infrastructure and IT admins would like to ability to control GPO and access via a cloud based AD than continuing to maintain on premise.
So all in that is 4 (including Messaging Everywhere) new features. There may certainly be more since the window to the next release is some 9 months away.
I also expect the following themes to continue...
1. More Improvements & Extensions to Edge.
2. More UWP programs from both MS and 3rd parties
3. Promotion of Windows Centennial supported 32 bit programs.
4. Improvements to Groove, Movies & TV and the Store
5. Improvements to MSN Apps - News, Sports, Weather and Money
6. Improvements to Maps, Photos, Mail/Calendar/People.
7. Improvements to Ink, Bash, etc
There is also the expectation that we will also see the new Surface Pro and Surface Book models based on Intel's 7th Gen Core (Kaby Lake) CPUs as well as the continually rumored Surface Phone.
So while the good news is there are new features coming, the bad news is that to actually realize some of them - you'll probably have to buy a new machine.
For example, I have a 2015 circa Lenovo T450 with 10 point Touch Screen built for Windows 10. But it doesn't support Pen input so Ink capabilities are somewhat worthless. And even though there is a whole slew of new 2-in-1 laptops out there, most are in the same boat. Only tablet devices with Pen support really work.
Similarly - many laptops today that have integrated web cams - don't support Windows Hello. Again my Lenovo is a perfect example. In theory my T450 was developed for Windows 10 - yet it doesn't support this feature. I do have Windows Hello support for my Fingerprint reader - which works well.
I recently did some research on a new laptop for my daughter and had to confirm IR camera support for Windows Hello.
And with many desktops - most vendors today do not have large format touch screens with Hello supported integrated web cams.
Additionally, MS recently announced that to get the latest Hello features and security support that your devices needed TPM 2.0 support. The TPM 2.0 specification was released in mid 2014 but many vendors are just now implementing this in their products lines. Once again my T450 is TPM 1.2 compliant NOT 2.0 and unless I get lucky with some sort of firmware update I don't expect to see it.
I'm not try to beat up on Lenovo here. The point is that even a 2015 circa machine won't be able to support all the new Windows 10 features.
To me it raises the following questions...
1. Do I continue on the Insider path since many of the new features are not supported on my hardware ?
2. Are the new features compelling enough to buy a new PC/Laptop/Tablet and would I be willing to pay a premium for that support ?
3. Are the PC vendors going to provide a portfolio of platforms that can support all of these features in a timely manner ?
For item 3 - the good news is that some vendors are starting to produce devices that can support Windows Hello, TPM 2.0 and Pen support - the latest Dell Latitude 12 2-in-1 and HP Elite X2 come to mind. Both are Surface like clones with tablet capabilities and 12.1" screens.
But neither of these are inexpensive. Figure $1200 - $1500 for a mid range Core M5 model. And if you want a larger screen or other features, then you're going to typically lose Pen support.
Which raises question #2. I mentioned that I was researching a new laptop for my daughter. Today for around $500 - I can buy her good quality 13" 6th Gen Core M5 2 in 1 with 1080p touch screen and Hello support via IR camera. But it doesn't support TPM 2.0 nor Pen. So the question becomes are those two features worth over double the price ?
Now sure the device I mentioned above is a consumer device vs the more enterprise focused devices - but still it's a pretty large premium for those two features.
Which then drives question #1. While there will certainly be aspects Redstone 2 I can test during this next branch on my current devices, many I won't. So is there value is going through somewhere around 30 or so test builds for features I may never use.
I already experienced that a little with Redstone 1. Most likely I will stay on fast Ring, but I know the value is going to be limited without the absolute latest & greatest hardware.
Bottom line is that the Redstone 2 branch has started - The Insider team has mentioned that we should start seeing builds in Aug and the expectation is that this branch will last about 9 months. The bigger question will be is that without a Surface Pro 4 or similar - will you really be able to see the benefits of Redstone 2.
The big question is what will Redstone 2 bring to the table in terms of new features and capabilities ?
With Redstone 1 - the big new features were directly addressed at the Build Conference in March. They included:
1. A big emphasis and expansion of Microsoft Ink. So more integration across more apps and some cool things like rulers and app relevance.
2. Cortana taking a bigger role - again with more integration across more apps - like Skype - and access via the lock screen. Also some backend capabilities like the Cortana Intelligence Engine.
3. Updates to MS Hello to support biometrics as well as integration with Edge for site logins.
4. BASH shell integration through a new partnership with Canonical (Ubuntu) and subsystem.
5. New Skype UWP app along more 3rd party UWP apps "coming soon"
6. Improved gaming integration across xBox and Windows 10 via UWP.
For the most part all of these items made the Anniversary Build.
With Redstone 2 it's a little harder to call out a complete feature set - but here is what I know as of today.
One feature of note that got dropped from Redstone 1 was Messaging Everywhere which provided a messaging app for PC which integrated with your Windows Phone to allow you to see, reply or edit new messages and have them sync with your phone.
The feature was still considered Beta when MS decided not to include in the Anniversary release - so I expect it come back.
MS also called out three new capabilities "In Development" on the Windows 10 Roadmap page.
1. Touch Screen support for Continuum - so the ability to control Continuum apps on the larger screen via Touch when Continuum connects to a supported Touch Screen.
2. Picture in Picture - an ability to monitor media content while focusing on other tasks.
3. Enhancements with Joining Azure AD - I can see this being a more and more attractive option to Enterprises customers running O365. As enterprises move more and more workload to the cloud, there will be less and less a need to maintain an on premise AD infrastructure and IT admins would like to ability to control GPO and access via a cloud based AD than continuing to maintain on premise.
So all in that is 4 (including Messaging Everywhere) new features. There may certainly be more since the window to the next release is some 9 months away.
I also expect the following themes to continue...
1. More Improvements & Extensions to Edge.
2. More UWP programs from both MS and 3rd parties
3. Promotion of Windows Centennial supported 32 bit programs.
4. Improvements to Groove, Movies & TV and the Store
5. Improvements to MSN Apps - News, Sports, Weather and Money
6. Improvements to Maps, Photos, Mail/Calendar/People.
7. Improvements to Ink, Bash, etc
There is also the expectation that we will also see the new Surface Pro and Surface Book models based on Intel's 7th Gen Core (Kaby Lake) CPUs as well as the continually rumored Surface Phone.
So while the good news is there are new features coming, the bad news is that to actually realize some of them - you'll probably have to buy a new machine.
For example, I have a 2015 circa Lenovo T450 with 10 point Touch Screen built for Windows 10. But it doesn't support Pen input so Ink capabilities are somewhat worthless. And even though there is a whole slew of new 2-in-1 laptops out there, most are in the same boat. Only tablet devices with Pen support really work.
Similarly - many laptops today that have integrated web cams - don't support Windows Hello. Again my Lenovo is a perfect example. In theory my T450 was developed for Windows 10 - yet it doesn't support this feature. I do have Windows Hello support for my Fingerprint reader - which works well.
I recently did some research on a new laptop for my daughter and had to confirm IR camera support for Windows Hello.
And with many desktops - most vendors today do not have large format touch screens with Hello supported integrated web cams.
Additionally, MS recently announced that to get the latest Hello features and security support that your devices needed TPM 2.0 support. The TPM 2.0 specification was released in mid 2014 but many vendors are just now implementing this in their products lines. Once again my T450 is TPM 1.2 compliant NOT 2.0 and unless I get lucky with some sort of firmware update I don't expect to see it.
I'm not try to beat up on Lenovo here. The point is that even a 2015 circa machine won't be able to support all the new Windows 10 features.
To me it raises the following questions...
1. Do I continue on the Insider path since many of the new features are not supported on my hardware ?
2. Are the new features compelling enough to buy a new PC/Laptop/Tablet and would I be willing to pay a premium for that support ?
3. Are the PC vendors going to provide a portfolio of platforms that can support all of these features in a timely manner ?
For item 3 - the good news is that some vendors are starting to produce devices that can support Windows Hello, TPM 2.0 and Pen support - the latest Dell Latitude 12 2-in-1 and HP Elite X2 come to mind. Both are Surface like clones with tablet capabilities and 12.1" screens.
But neither of these are inexpensive. Figure $1200 - $1500 for a mid range Core M5 model. And if you want a larger screen or other features, then you're going to typically lose Pen support.
Which raises question #2. I mentioned that I was researching a new laptop for my daughter. Today for around $500 - I can buy her good quality 13" 6th Gen Core M5 2 in 1 with 1080p touch screen and Hello support via IR camera. But it doesn't support TPM 2.0 nor Pen. So the question becomes are those two features worth over double the price ?
Now sure the device I mentioned above is a consumer device vs the more enterprise focused devices - but still it's a pretty large premium for those two features.
Which then drives question #1. While there will certainly be aspects Redstone 2 I can test during this next branch on my current devices, many I won't. So is there value is going through somewhere around 30 or so test builds for features I may never use.
I already experienced that a little with Redstone 1. Most likely I will stay on fast Ring, but I know the value is going to be limited without the absolute latest & greatest hardware.
Bottom line is that the Redstone 2 branch has started - The Insider team has mentioned that we should start seeing builds in Aug and the expectation is that this branch will last about 9 months. The bigger question will be is that without a Surface Pro 4 or similar - will you really be able to see the benefits of Redstone 2.
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