Don’t look now, but Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) looks to be taking another run at Alphabet Inc’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL, NASDAQ:GOOG) Chrome operating system. References have begun popping up in builds of the Windows 10 Creators Update (which is due to arrive in April) to Windows 10 Cloud.
Speculation is growing that Windows 10 Cloud is in fact a new simplified version of Microsoft’s operating system, designed to run on devices powered by inexpensive ARM chips from ARM Holdings plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:ARMH).
In other words, it appears that Microsoft is preparing to take on the threat of Chromebooks — the cheap, popular laptops running Google’s Chrome OS. And it seems to be doing so by resurrecting the idea of Windows RT.
Windows 10 Cloud
Windows 10 Creators Build is the next major revision of the Microsoft Windows PC operating system. It’s due to begin rolling out to users around April 17.
But developers have been testing pre-release builds of Microsoft’s software and recently some of them began to notice something strange: The code references different variations of the operating system. For example, Windows 10 Pro for Workstation and Windows 10 for Enterprise are spiked out. Nothing unusual there. But then, references to Windows 10 Cloud began to appear. And that started raising eyebrows — what is Windows 10 Cloud?
ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley put the pieces together yesterday. Quoting unnamed sources, she says that the mysterious Windows 10 Cloud is a new, simplified version of Microsoft Windows that will run only Unified Windows Platform (UWP) apps. In other words, it’s a “simpler, safer, cheaper” version of Windows 10.
You might also think of it as another crack at Windows RT …
Windows RT? But Why?
Everyone remembers the mess that was Windows RT. The attempt to shoehorn a version of Windows onto a consumer tablet running ARM chips –the ill-fated Surface RT — very nearly dealt MSFT’s tablet aspirations a fatal blow.
However, despite the failure of Windows RT, Microsoft has never given up on the idea of Windows on ARM chips. By doing so, it can get Windows onto mobile devices that can’t use the more powerful and expensive chips from Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC). The company has already been showing off Windows 10 running in emulation on high-end ARM chips. As part of that effort, it could also be working on a “lite” version that can deliver much of the Windows 10 experience on less expensive, lower powered ARM hardware.
So why, why, why would Microsoft risk falling flat on its face again with what essentially amounts to another crack at Windows RT? There are two reasons.
The first is that dream of “Windows everywhere.” Having the full Windows 10 experience on high-powered ARM chips is great, but only flagship smartphones and tablets can afford to use those chips. Windows 10 Cloud would get Microsoft Windows (and Bing) onto a whole lot more mobile hardware.
The second is Google’s Chrome OS and Chromebooks. These cheap laptops have been under Microsoft’s skin for years. They’ve become extremely popular in the education sector thanks to low cost, ease of use and built-in security. And Chromebooks have just kept selling, to the point where last year they passed even Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) MacBooks in sales.
Microsoft has tried fighting back by helping manufacturers put out cheap Windows 10 laptops, but that hasn’t stemmed the Chromebook flood. Windows 10 makes for a sluggish experience on inexpensive Intel hardware, it’s far more complex than Chrome OS to use and lacks the drop-dead easy security of Chromebooks.
Windows 10 Cloud running on laptops with ARM processors would compete head-to-head with Chromebooks running Chrome OS: simpler, safer and cheaper than Windows 10.
Microsoft refused to comment on the ZDNet post, but the pieces pointing to Windows 10 as a Chrome OS-fighting, second crack at Windows RT make sense. Naturally, MSFT is going to avoid all references to Windows RT — that’s poison — and the Windows 10 Cloud name could end up being a code name.
It could also be an attempt to steal some of the Chrome OS “cloud” thunder. Expect to get the final answer on Windows 10 Cloud from Microsoft prior to that April 17 Windows 10 Creators Build release.
As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
