Over at its big press event in New York, Microsoft has announced that the next major version of Windows 10 will be unleashed next spring, and it will be called the Creators Update.
As the name suggests, this is all about the desktop OS getting creative, pushing forward with 3D content creation, and on the fronts of augmented reality and virtual reality, plus 'connected mixed reality experiences' as Microsoft put it (naturally including HoloLens).
Microsoft’s Taj Reid showed off a demo with HoloLens, showing him browsing in Edge, and taking an object – in this case a stool – and pulling it out from the online shop, to place it in the real-world room to see how it looks next to a table. Pretty nifty, and a feature that should make online shopping decisions a whole lot easier, as you can 'virtually' see what you're buying.
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VR goodness
But the really cool stuff came on the virtual reality front, with Reid subsequently donning a VR headset running Windows 10, enabling him to watch a football match on a giant screen right up close, or engage in a ‘holotour’ in which he wandered about amongst some old Roman buildings.
And a number of partners will be teaming up with Microsoft to produce VR headsets starting at $299 (around £245) – for more details on this, head over here.
Paint 3D (which was previously rumored) is, of course, part of this creative drive, and the revamped app aims to be a dead easy to use 3D art studio, allowing you to do things like snap a photo with your phone camera and pull out an object from it, capturing it in 3D and then sharing it directly.
Another big revelation for gamers was the introduction of game broadcasting, which is being built directly into Windows 10. This is dead easy to use, and basically a one-click-to-broadcast affair, with Microsoft going after Twitch by giving users a very simple way to get into streaming their gaming exploits.
Terry Myerson commented: "We want free 3D, free mixed reality, free eSports and game broadcasting, and so much more for everyone."
Microsoft also said that Windows Insiders will be getting early preview builds of the Creators Update later this week, which is surprisingly quick.
The firm also noted that over 400 million people are now using Windows 10, and going forward, each major update will have a unique name and focus, such as creativity in this case.
- Microsoft also unveiled its new Surface Studio all-in-one PC
