We all know that Microsoft’s aim with its latest operating system is to span all devices from phones to computers, and tie them all much closer together – as Apple is doing with macOS and iOS, as well – and apparently the next major update for Windows 10 will be making big strides on this front.
The Redstone 2 or RS2 build, which should hopefully land early-ish next year (RS1 was the Anniversary Update), is going to build on the ‘continue app experience’ which already had its foundations established in RS1.
As the name suggests, it’s a feature which allows users to work on an app on one device, and later on, pick up where they left off running the same app on another device.
According to inside sources who spoke to Windows Central, with RS2, this will be developed into a much fuller system whereby Windows 10 will pop-up some manner of context-sensitive notification via Cortana when an app is used across devices, informing the user that they can carry on where they left off on another piece of hardware – and keep the same software settings and so forth.
Kitchen sync
And the feature (which is currently being referred to as ‘flow’ internally at Microsoft) won’t just be limited to syncing apps, but will also be able to do fancy stuff like replicate your workspace across devices, and carry over things like files, browsing tabs, and so on. It pretty much sounds like you’ll be able to continue with everything from one device to another, minimising any potential impact on your productivity when switching over from, say, a tablet to a desktop PC.
Redstone 2 is also set to get some useful stability improvements as we saw in the latest preview build of Windows 10, and it’s looking to tightly integrate Office 365, as well.
The latter functionality will come via an ‘Office Hub’, which will ensure the user has quick and easy access to all documents, emails and so forth, as well as being able to flag up things like when colleagues are working on a shared document on OneDrive.
In short, when RS2 pitches up next year, Windows 10 is set to become much more intelligent in terms of working across devices and collaborating with colleagues. And that’s got to be a good thing for everyone, particularly for employees and businesses.
- Now, how about what's happening with macOS Sierra?
