In 2019, Microsoft announced the Surface Neo, a dual-screen PC with a nimble new version of Windows, dubbed Windows 10X. However, the Surface Neo was never released. And now Petri is reporting that Microsoft will also delay the launch of Windows 10X this year.

Windows 10X, made to shine on tablets and low-power PCs, was touted as Windows redesigned from the ground up for the touch interface, with enhanced security and other new features. It was originally slated for dual-screen devices like the Neo, but in the early days of last year's pandemic, Microsoft shifted gears and focused on leveraging cloud computing, planning to deploy Windows 10X on single-screen devices first The company reportedly made plans to first deploy Windows 10X on single-screen devices.

Now it appears that Windows 10X will not be released this year, and if it does ship, it will not be in the form we had hoped for; Petri has heard from Microsoft officials that the company has set Windows 10X aside to focus on improving Windows 10 Petri claims to have heard from Microsoft officials that the company has put Windows 10X aside to focus on improving Windows 10.

The company has reportedly received feedback that customers are not interested in this new redesigned variant of Windows 10 and instead want the most useful features of Windows 10X integrated into the core Windows 10 product.

Although Microsoft has not yet officially said so, the line of reasoning makes a lot of sense: Windows 10 is already spread across a wide variety of tablets and 2-in-1 laptops with touchscreens, all of which would benefit from a significantly improved touch interface in the OS. All of them will benefit from significant improvements in the OS touch interface. Later this year, a major Windows 10 update (branded "Sun Valley") is expected to be available from Microsoft that will bring significant changes to the Microsoft Store and refresh the visuals of the aging OS.