Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the event will continue Microsoft’s recent output by being all virtual. The company says the What’s Next for Windows will take place on June 24 at 11am ET: “Save the date for June 24, where you will hear from Microsoft executives, including CEO Satya Nadella and Chief Product Officer Panos Panay.” With Nadella and Panay leading the event, this is going to be a big show with some major announcements. As we start with Sun Valley and look further ahead, we expect Microsoft to deliver a roadmap for a reimagining of Windows 10. Nadella confirmed as much as the recent Build 2021 developer conference. The CEO said Windows 10 is entering into a period that will being the biggest overhaul of the platform since it launched. It is unlikely all the changes will come through the Sun Valley update, so what Microsoft has to say about 2022 updates will be interesting. We already know that Microsoft is overhauling the look and feel of Windows 10. We also know Windows 10X is now cancelled and its features will fold into the regular Win10 SKU. Aside from that, it is unclear what other big announcements Microsoft will make.
Surface Devices?
With product chief Panos Panay on board at the event, there is a hope of some new Surface devices. Computing-based from the Surface division have been somewhat bland in recent years. It would be nice to see a major shake-up to one of the product lines, but that is unlikely. Certainly, with Windows 10X nixed it seems the Surface Neo will not be that that device. However, there is a small chance Microsoft will introduce the Surface Duo 2. It has been nearly a year since the original smartphone launched and it is expected a second-generation device should arrive at some point this year. Tip of the day: Did you know that your data and privacy might be at risk if you run Windows 10 without encryption? A bootable USB with a live-linux distribution is often just enough to gain access to all of your files. If you want to change that, check out our detailed BitLocker guide where we show you how to turn on encryption for your system disk or any other drive you might be using in your computer.
