Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) is set to reveal its first major Windows update under new CEO Satya Nadella today.
In a do-or-die situation for the Redmond-based giant, it is probably its last chance to show the world that Windows still matters.
Microsoft had only given a limited preview of Windows 10 last fall. More features will be announced as Microsoft gets closer to releasing it later this year.
Why is Windows becoming outdated?
Microsoft still remains dominant in the desktops market. However, it did not anticipate the advent of mobile and its impact on its core desktop market. For this reason Microsoft’s consumer side has been impacted more than its enterprise side. In fact the mighty tech companies Apple(AAPL) and Google(GOOGL) have only been successful at chipping its share in enterprise desktops. Most of Microsoft’s productivity tools etc are also for enterprise customers.
Its biggest threats are Bring your own devices (BYOD) and BYOD at the enterprise and all tablets on the consumer side.
Besides, Google gives hardware makers a certain amount of flexibility to install their own software on top of Android. Therefore, the experience is a lot more varied than the one provided by Windows PC. Microsoft has always been keen on having Windows interface features front and center.
Microsoft was late to the mobile market and tried to make good with a refurbished operating system for smartphones. It also came up with Windows 8, which worked on both touchscreens and regular PCs.
Both these initiatives were failures. Five years after its release, Windows Phone just has around 3% market share in new mobile phone shipments while mobile developers consider it third, if they consider it at all.
Windows 8 was confusing and managed to distance a lot of Windows loyalists without helping Microsoft capture much of the rising tablet market.
PC sales were down through most of 2013 and 2014 wasn’t any better.
Windows 10
Microsoft has already revealed quite a few features and interface details about Windows 10. A few leaks have revealed the following about Windows 10:
It will be better synchronized across devices. This means that Windows 10 will allow users who use one kind of Windows to move to another Windows device and should increase the number of apps available on all three platforms.
Parts of it will look a lot more like traditional Windows. Windows 10 will get back the "Start Menu" — the little menu in the lower left hand corner, which has been the way you launched applications since Windows XP . It will also reportedly get rid of some confusing Windows 8 features like "Charms," a set of icons that popped out from the right side of the screen but never made much sense.
For the first time ever since Windows 95, Microsoft is reportedly building a new browser. It has been code-named Spartan and leaks suggest that it will look and feel like Google Chrome or like the mobile version of Apple's Safari.
It will be incorporated with a reading mode and might also include a built-in version of Cortana, Microsoft's answer to Apple's Siri personal assistant. Internet Explorer will be retained to enable backward-compatibility.
Windows 10 will have a new feature called Continuum that will automatically detect whether a keyboard or touchscreen is being used and adapt what is shown on the screen accordingly.
All Eyes on the Event
Gartner tech analyst Brian Blau said, "It can't be overstated how important this is for Microsoft, They've positioned Windows 10 as the solution to all the problems they created with Windows 8."
There won't be a Windows 9 as Microsoft has decided to skip the number and move on straightaway to Windows 10, possibly suggesting that it is truly a couple of notches ahead of its precursor.
There is a lot to watch out for in this event. What are the new features that Windows 10 will incorporate? For all the Windows lovers out there, the question is will Microsoft’s Window 10 be a winner?
Microsoft currently holds a Zacks Rank# 3 (Hold). Investors can also consider Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA), as it carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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