Microsoft Unveils New Windows, Mixed-Reality Features
May 11 2017 - 11:59AM
Dow Jones News
By Jay Greene
SEATTLE -- Microsoft Corp. is expected Thursday to announce
plans for the next update to its Windows 10 operating system, a
version that will include technology to bridge applications across
devices -- even those running Apple Inc.'s iOS and Alphabet Inc.'s
Android.
The Fall Creators Update of the operating system will include
"Pick Up Where You Left Off," a self-described feature that will
allow users to finished editing a document, for example, on an
iPhone that they started on a Windows PC.
The feature requires Cortana, Microsoft's digital assistant app,
to run on each device. Apple offers a similar feature, called
Handoff, though it works only on devices running operating systems
from that company.
Microsoft is unveiling the new Windows offerings during day two
of Build, its annual conference for developers who create
applications and services that run on top of Microsoft's
technologies.
The software giant is also expected to debut the Windows Mixed
Reality motion controller, a device that gamers and others can use
as they play in virtual worlds.
The gadget doesn't require hardware, known as markers, installed
on the walls around the user to sense movement. Instead, the
controller tracks movement using sensors in the device and in a
headset paired with it.
Acer Inc. plans to sell a headset and motion controller bundle
for $399 this holiday season, Microsoft said. Other manufacturers
will offer the new device, too. Microsoft said developers in North
America who want to build mixed-reality applications can preorder
an Acer headset for $299 or one from HP Inc. for $329 starting
today, with delivery scheduled for this summer.
The new Windows update, which Microsoft said will be available
later this year, will more deeply embed Microsoft's web-based file
storage OneDrive into the OS. Windows will include OneDrive Files
on Demand, a feature the company said will give users the ability
to access documents from the service without having to download
them, even when they aren't connected to the web, through clever
technology that caches versions.
The company declined to say if those new Windows capabilities
would be available to other web-based storage services from
companies such as Box Inc. "We're not discussing that," said
Windows Developer corporate Vice President Kevin Gallo.
The update is part of Microsoft's plan to refresh the operating
system roughly every six months. Microsoft announced plans for the
current version of Windows, the Creators Update, last fall, and
began rolling it out to customers last month.
On Wednesday, Microsoft disclosed there are now 500 million
devices running Windows 10. Thursday, the company said more than
300 million people use the nearly two-year-old operating system
every day, and do so for more than 3.5 hours a day on average.
Write to Jay Greene at Jay.Greene@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 11, 2017 11:44 ET (15:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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