Last year when Microsoft announced Windows 10X they said the new OS would be targeted for dual screen devices like the Surface Neo and other devices coming from OEMS. I always thought Windows 10X was the future of Windows for small laptops and that keeping it for just dual screen devices would be a missed opportunity. Microsoft probably took that approach to give them some space to develop 10X out of the glare of mainstream Window users but it looks like Microsoft have changed direction. Panos Panay has announced a change in focus for 10X, in his new blog post Panos has said they are pivoting development to single screen devices with Windows 10X.

With Windows 10X, we designed for flexibility, and that flexibility has enabled us to pivot our focus toward single-screen Windows 10X devices that leverage the power of the cloud to help our customers work, learn and play in new ways. These single-screen devices will be the first expression of Windows 10X that we deliver to our customers, and we will continue to look for the right moment, in conjunction with our OEM partners, to bring dual-screen devices to market.

Panos doesn’t go into details of when we will see Windows 10X on single screen devices or dual screens but he does say:

 …in this holiday and the next, we are going to accelerate innovation in Windows 10 to ensure that Windows devices are the best way to work, learn and play.

We will find out more at Microsoft’s Build conference later this month. The event is now virtual and open for any to register. What I want to see is actual hardware we can test Windows 10X on, an image for an existing device like the Surface Go would be ideal.

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